Occupational health hazards among healthcare providers and ancillary staff in Ghana: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: The strict implementation of occupational health and safety policy curbs exposure to occupational hazards. However, empirical evidence is lacking in the Ghanaian context. This review primarily aimed to explore exposure to occupational hazards among healthcare providers and ancillary staff in Ghana. DESIGN: A scoping review was conducted based on Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework and Levac et al's methodological enhancement. DATA SOURCES: Searches were conducted of the PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO and Scopus databases, as well as Google Scholar and websites of tertiary institutions in Ghana, for publications from 1 January 2010 to 30 November 2021. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Quantitative studies that were published in the English language and focused on occupational exposure to biological and/or non-biological hazards among healthcare professionals in Ghana were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two independent reviewers extracted the data based on the type of occupational exposure and descriptive characteristics of the studies. The data are presented in tables and graphs. A narrative summary of review findings was prepared based on the review research questions. RESULTS: Our systematic search strategy retrieved 507 publications; however, only 43 met the inclusion criteria. A little over one-quarter were unpublished theses/dissertations. The included studies were related to biological, psychosocial, ergonomic and other non-biological hazards. 55.8% of the studies were related to exposure to biological hazards and related preventive measures. In general, health workers were reported to use and comply with control and preventive measures; however, knowledge of control and preventive measures was suboptimal. CONCLUSION: Work is needed to address the issue of occupational health hazard exposure in Ghana's health system. More research is needed to understand the extent of these exposures and their effects on the health system.

Occupational Exposure to Blood and Body Fluids among Medical Laboratory Science Students of the University of Health and Allied Sciences during Vocational Internship in the Volta Region of Ghana.

Medical laboratory science students (MLSS), likewise health care workers (HCW), invariably get exposed to blood and body fluids (BBF) of patients. The degree of exposure of these students is even worsened due to their inexperience, which is usually revealed during their vocational training programme. This study therefore determined the prevalence of exposure to BBF and its risk factors among MLSS at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). A cross-sectional survey was employed using simple random sampling to enrol 178 students into the study. The study was conducted from February 1 to March 31, 2018, after the annual vocational training programme completed in August 2017. Self-administered questionnaires based on the objectives of the study were given out to participants to complete after their consent was sought. Descriptive data were reported as absolute number with percentages, whereas bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were done to describe relationship between risk factors and exposure to BBF. The study findings revealed that, out of 178 MLSS that participated, 90 (50.6%) experienced at least one exposure to BBF. Also, work experience before university education increased the chances of exposure to BBF (AOR = 7.37, 95% CI = 1.22-44.43, pvalue = 0.029) compared with those with no experience. In contrast, adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) reduced the tendencies of exposure to BBF (AOR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.20-0.88, p value = 0.023) compared with students who had insufficient PPE. The study showed high, 50.6% (95% CI: 43.0%-58.1%), exposure to BBF. Work history and sufficient PPE were the most significantly associated risk factors. In view of this, there is the need to promote training and education on exposure to BBF particularly among experienced students and also encourage health facilities to continue providing enough PPE for students during their annual obligatory vocational internship programmes.