The burden of Buruli Ulcer Disease (BUD) is still high in Ghana with over 11,000 cases reported since 1993. Whilst various efforts have been directed at reducing the burden of BUD in Ghana, a community-based approach through community engagement has been described as a ‘critical enabler’. In this qualitative study, we aimed to adapt Rifkin’s spider-gram theory to understand the role of community engagement in the eradication of a BUD programme in an endemic district of Ghana. Overall, 22 people participated in the study. A focus group interview involving 9 participants and semi-structured interviews involving 13 participants were conducted. The study results showed limited community involvement in the design and implementation of the community-based Buruli Ulcer programme. The study, therefore, recommends wider community involvement in the design and implementation phase of health programmes particularly by ensuring this is reflected in all five key dimensions of the spider-gram framework.
BT - Discover Health Systems DO - 10.1007/s44250-025-00183-0 LA - ENG M3 - Article N2 -The burden of Buruli Ulcer Disease (BUD) is still high in Ghana with over 11,000 cases reported since 1993. Whilst various efforts have been directed at reducing the burden of BUD in Ghana, a community-based approach through community engagement has been described as a ‘critical enabler’. In this qualitative study, we aimed to adapt Rifkin’s spider-gram theory to understand the role of community engagement in the eradication of a BUD programme in an endemic district of Ghana. Overall, 22 people participated in the study. A focus group interview involving 9 participants and semi-structured interviews involving 13 participants were conducted. The study results showed limited community involvement in the design and implementation of the community-based Buruli Ulcer programme. The study, therefore, recommends wider community involvement in the design and implementation phase of health programmes particularly by ensuring this is reflected in all five key dimensions of the spider-gram framework.
PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC PY - 2025 EP - 13 T2 - Discover Health Systems TI - Community engagement for buruli ulcer eradication: lessons from an endemic district in Ghana UR - https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s44250-025-00183-0.pdf VL - 4 SN - 2731-7501 ER -