Pillar 3: Implementation Research and Policy Advocacy

We generate local, context-specific evidence to identify and address key bottlenecks that block the effective delivery of health interventions. The insights gathered on successful strategies will be shared with public health authorities, published as scientific research, and translated into policy briefs. This will support scaling up, drive sustainable health system improvements, and inform national policy change.

Whether carried out alongside health systems strengthening activities or as standalone projects, implementation research will focus on overcoming the main causes of maternal, newborn, and child illness and death in Adamawa—and eventually across northern Cameroon. Initially, research will pilot cost-effective strategies in the following areas:

• Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM)
• Family planning
• Integrated management of TB, pneumonia, and upper respiratory tract infections
• Screening, diagnosis, and treatment for asthma and COPD at primary health care level by non-specialist clinicians (nurses and general practitioners)

As many of the conditions above relate to the second and third phases of implementation research in Cameroon, key outcomes to be evaluated include:

• Feasibility: Assessing how successfully an intervention can be delivered within a specific setting or organisation, with a focus on cost, effectiveness, and acceptability.
• Fidelity: Measuring how closely an intervention follows its original protocol, plan, or policy. Adherence to protocols remains a major challenge for health workers and community health workers in primary health care, particularly across northern Cameroon.
• Penetration and Coverage: Exploring ways to expand an intervention within health systems (vertical scaling up) and improve its reach among target populations in the community, especially in remote areas.
• Sustainability: Evaluating how well an intervention is maintained and embedded within local health structures over time. Since many effective interventions rely heavily on NGOs and external partners, our research will explore strategies for a smoother transition to long-term local ownership and sustainability.