Assessment Of Occupational Health And Safety Compliance Among Healthcare Professionals At The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Background The onset of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has heightened global interest in occupational health and safety in healthcare settings. Occupational safety and health (OSH) is a multidisciplinary area that deals with the safety, health, and well-being of workers. One major category of the global workforce whose occupational health and safety are in jeopardy are healthcare workers (HCWs) this has become great concern because of the rise in infection among health care workers because of the Covid 19 pandemic. General Aim To assess compliance to occupational health and safety guidelines, knowledge and factors that influence compliance among healthcare workers at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Methodology The study was a cross-sectional study by means of a quantitative research approach. A total of 346 responses (response rate) resulted as sample size from different healthcare practitioners working within the various Korle Bu Teaching hospital departments were recruited to participate in the study. The study employed the use of proportionate stratified sampling technique to select the number of participants from each staff category, simple random sampling was then used to select final participants staff. A standard interviewer-administered questionnaire was employed for data collection. Socio-demographic data were analyzed using descriptive statistics while standard multiple linear logistic regression was used to analyze factors associated with compliance with standard precautions. Results In this study, 66.4% of the respondents had a high knowledge of occupational hazards and safety precautions. The rate of compliance to standard precautions in this study was moderately above average 60.8%. The presence of factors such as PPEs and other Safety equipment, and Workplace safety climate significantly contributed to the compliance with occupational health precautions. Conclusion It was clear from the findings of this study that most respondents (66.4%) had good knowledge of occupational hazards and safety precautions with 60.8% of the respondents comply with safety guidelines. Management of healthcare institutions should increase its focus with respect to availability and accessibility of PPEs, training, support, and giving feedback for safety practices to ensure compliance with standard precautions.