Practice of paediatric triage among nurses in human-resource constrained setting: A cross-sectional study in the Tamale metropolis of Ghana

Abstract

Background: Globally, about 30 million children are said to be in need of emergency health care. Proper emergency care can help meet the Sustainable Development Goal targets (SDGs) in relation to maternal and child mortality. Triaging in emergency settings is an established effective way of reducing child mortality in health care institutions. Aims: We determined the practice of paediatric triage among nurses working in health facilities in Tamale. Methods: A cross-sectional design, was used to randomly recruit 173 nurses for the study. Using a pre-tested structured questionnaire, we collected socio-demographic information and the practice of paediatric triage among the respondents. The data was analyzed with Stata version 15.0. Results: The majority of nurses in this study were males (56.07 %). Most of the respondents had a certificate in nursing qualifications. The practice of Paediatric Triage was 78.03 % among the respondents. Paediatric triage was practiced more in the Teaching Hospital (84.52 %) as compared to 64.29 % in the District Hospitals. The practice of paediatric triage was associated with the religion of the respondents (59.12, <0.001) and the hospital of work (29.30, <0.001). The respondents identified inadequate personnel, inadequate logistics, poor understanding of triage, complexity of triage and tiresome nature as barriers to triage. Conclusion: The desire to practice paediatric triage among nurses in resource constrained settings is high even though inadequate personnel and logistics among others pose as barriers to the successful practice of paediatric triage.