130:oral Adhering to principles and practices of universal health care in Ghana : prioritizing occupational and safety concerns for health professionals from a facility in Ghana

• Published in: BMJ global health 2022-04, Vol.7 (Suppl 2), p.A12-A12
• Main Author: Panti, Emelia Ampomaah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abstracts; Global health; Health care; Human exposure; Medical personnel; National health insurance; Nurses; Occupational health; Occupational safety; Workloads
• ISSN: 2059-7908
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-ISPH.33

IntroductionOccupational and safety issues shave gained attention in the health facilities. Nursing appears to be a hazardous occupation in the world but not much attention has been advocated about health and safety issues facing the nursing profession in Ghana especially at the facility at Agogo The basis of this project is that, though nurses do contribute to health care delivery in Ghana there appears to be serious breaches about work-related hazards among sampled nurses from the survey at the Presbyterian Hospital at Agogo.MethodsA quantitative descriptive with longitudinal section was used in the study. A simple random technique with stratified disproportional was also used to have a sample size of 102 respondents of all grades and gender. A standard questionnaire was used to gather data.ResultsThe results showed respondents as registered nurses, females (70.6%) and males (29.4%). Most respondents (75.5%) were knowledgeable about hazards in healthcare facility. In addition, 20.6% had not completed hepatitis B immunization, 38.2% had suffered from occupational health hazard, the greatest contributing factor to health was heavy workload with inadequate staff. Most respondents (75.5%) improvised to achieve results other than standard procedure at work.DiscussionRespondents answered in affirmative about lack of post basic training as measures aimed at safety practices and minimizing exposure to hazards such as provision of safety equipment, core -placement and routine training on safety practices are needed. Adequate reinforcement of staff capacity and capability through drills in healthcare facilities should be made mandatory. Ghana is striving for perfection for an improved health delivery but it is also imperative that occupational hazards and safety measures for staff at medical facilities should be improved. The targets of SDG 3 needs to be achieved particularly with good policy support from the government