Department of Social and Behavioral Change, School of Public Health, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.
Pediatric Unit, Savelugu Municipal Hospital, Ghana Health Service, Northern Region, Ghana.
PLoS One. 2022 Sep 6;17(9):e0274049. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274049. eCollection 2022.
Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in 2019 and caused widespread disruption to many facets of life, including healthcare. Healthcare workers, particularly nurses, became the front-line fighters against the pandemic, making it imperative to comply with recommended safety protocols. However, many nurses were infected by the virus in the Tamale Metropolis, raising concerns regarding their level of adherence to the safety protocols. This study assessed the predictors of knowledge and adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols among nurses at selected health facilities in the Tamale Metropolis of northern Ghana.
A facility based cross-sectional study design was adopted and 339 nurses from six (6) public health facilities in the Tamale Metropolis were recruited for the study using questionnaires. The questionnaires were transformed into Google Forms for respondents to answer online via WhatsApp or email. The data were exported from the Google spreadsheet into SPSS and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Of the 339 participants, 60.2% were classified as having adequate knowledge while only 9.1% demonstrated high adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols. Knowledge of COVID-19 was predicted by source of information, and marital status, whereas health facility types predicted level of adherence. The odds of having adequate knowledge were higher among unmarried nurses (AOR = 1.94; 95% CI: 1.16-3.25; p = 0.012) and nurses using social media (AOR = 1.80; 95%CI 1.02-3.18; p = 0.042) compared to their counterparts. Meanwhile, primary health care nurses (AOR = 0.24; 95% CI = 0.12-0.50; p<0.001) and secondary health care nurses (AOR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.31-0.88; P = 0.016) had reduced odds of exhibiting higher adherence compared to nurses from tertiary-level facility.
In this study, we found that knowledge was high but adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols was low. We suggest that facility managers should enforce compliance of their staff to the safety protocols to prevent spread of the virus within healthcare settings.
2019 年出现的 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）广泛扰乱了生活的许多方面，包括医疗保健。医护人员，尤其是护士，成为抗击这一流行病的第一线战士，因此必须遵守建议的安全规程。然而，在塔马利大都市区，许多护士感染了该病毒，这引起了人们对他们遵守安全规程程度的关注。本研究评估了加纳北部塔马利大都市区选定卫生设施中护士对 COVID-19 安全规程的知识和遵守情况的预测因素。
采用基于设施的横断面研究设计，从塔马利大都市区的六（6）家公共卫生设施中招募了 339 名护士，使用问卷进行研究。问卷被转换为 Google 表格，通过 WhatsApp 或电子邮件让受访者在线回答。数据从 Google 电子表格导出到 SPSS 中，并使用描述性和推断性统计进行分析。
在 339 名参与者中，有 60.2％被归类为具有足够的知识，而只有 9.1％表现出对 COVID-19 安全规程的高度遵守。COVID-19 知识由信息来源和婚姻状况预测，而卫生设施类型则预测了遵守程度。与已婚护士相比，未婚护士（AOR = 1.94；95％CI：1.16-3.25；p = 0.012）和使用社交媒体的护士（AOR = 1.80；95％CI 1.02-3.18；p = 0.042）具有更高的获得足够知识的可能性。相比之下，与来自三级设施的护士相比，初级卫生保健护士（AOR = 0.24；95％CI = 0.12-0.50；p<0.001）和二级卫生保健护士（AOR = 0.52；95％CI = 0.31-0.88；P = 0.016）表现出更高的遵守率的可能性较低。
在这项研究中，我们发现知识水平很高，但对 COVID-19 安全规程的遵守程度很低。我们建议设施管理人员应强制要求其员工遵守安全规程，以防止病毒在医疗保健环境中传播。
