Prevalence in Ghanaian health workers

Abstract

Introduction. Medical institutions in Ghana are in most cases located in adapted buildings that have an unsatisfactory sanitary and technical condition. The government and the administration of institutions fail to pay due attention to the health and safety of medical worker. There is a high level of their morbidity, rehabilitation, preventive measures nor been developed neither implemented. This formed the basis for our study.
 Materials and methods. The collection of information using a specially designed questionnaire was carried out in online mode. The objects of the study were medical workers, their working conditions, medical institutions in Ghana. A total of seven hundred eighty six employees took part in the survey. Staff responses were analyzed using SPSS to conduct the study.
 Results. were the In workers of medical institutions in Ghana, leading infectious diseases were malaria, hepatitis B, and tuberculosis, non-infectious morbidity was associated with diseases of the circulatory system. The peak of infectious diseases among medical workers was recorded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the same year, due to limited screening diagnostics, the lowest incidence of non-communicable diseases was noted. Habits such as smoking (6.9%) and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages (35.8%) are common among healthcare workers in Ghana, which are a high risk of developing non-communicable diseases (smoking – p < 0.001, excessive drinking – p < 0.001 ).
 Discussion. According to the results of our research, the level of morbidity of medical personnel in medical institutions in Ghana was found to be high. This correlates with data reflecting the situation in Russian healthcare. However, the structure of the causes of temporary disability of the personnel of medical institutions in the two countries differs. The infectious morbidity of medical workers in Ghana has its own characteristics: high rates are noted for HIV infection, parenteral viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, and malaria. Infectious diseases were the leading cause of death for healthcare workers in 2019–2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, both in Ghana and elsewhere. We found that the unified guidelines for labour protection in medical institutions in Ghana have not been developed and are not applied, which significantly distinguishes them from Russian ones.
 Research limitations. The lack of methods and techniques, equipment, regulations governing the conduct and assessment of working conditions, a system for registering and investigating cases of occupational diseases in Ghana has become a limitation of scientific research. 
 Conclusion. In order to save the lives of patients, manage acceptable working conditions for medical personnel, ensure the efficiency and sustainability of the healthcare system in Ghana, it is recommended to develop and implement a comprehensive, unambiguous occupational health and safety policy, including for healthcare workers.