Initial program evaluation of the Ponseti method in Nigeria.

The Ponseti method for correcting clubfoot is a safe, effective, and low-cost treatment that has recently been implemented in Nigeria. This study evaluates the initial impact of the Ponseti method and the unique challenges to its diffusion among practitioners and patients. Information was obtained by traveling to Ponseti clinics to interview or give questionnaires to the Ponseti method practitioners and the parents of children with clubfoot. The challenges identified among the practitioners were: 1) an inadequate amount of information; 2) inadequate resources; 3) insufficient training programs; and 4) a lack of funding. The challenges among parents were: 1) a deficit in knowledge about clubfoot and its treatment; 2) financial constraints; 3) culture and religious practices, and 4) difficulties with treatment compliance. Information from this study can be used to implement specific strategies to improve the dissemination and implementation of the Ponseti method for treating clubfoot in Nigeria and throughout West African nations that share cultural and socioeconomic commonalities.