RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to examine health workers' perceptions of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in Nigeria and their willingness to receive the vaccine when it becomes available. METHODS: This multi-center cross-sectional study used non-probability convenience sampling to enroll 1,470 hospital workers aged 18 and above from 4 specialized hospitals. A structured and validated self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data entry and analysis were conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 22.0. RESULTS: The mean age of respondents was 40±6 years. Only 53.5% of the health workers had positive perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine, and only slightly more than half (55.5%) were willing to receive vaccination. Predictors of willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine included having a positive perception of the vaccine (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 4.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.50-5.69), perceiving a risk of contracting COVID-19 (AOR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.25-3.98), having received tertiary education (AOR, 3.50; 95% CI, 1.40-6.86), and being a clinical health worker (AOR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.01-1.68). CONCLUSION: Perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine and willingness to receive the vaccine were sub-optimal among this group. Educational interventions to improve health workers' perceptions and attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine are needed.
RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: in order to curb the increasing spread of COVID-19 amongst health care workers (HCWs), the World Health Organization (WHO) released the COVID-19 Rights, Roles and Responsibilities of Health workers (COVID-19 RRRHW) policy document aimed at protecting HCWs amidst the on-going pandemic. This study determined the level of implementation of the document in a tertiary hospital in Southwest Nigeria. METHODS: this was a cross-sectional descriptive study among HCWs in a tertiary hospital in South-western Nigeria that assessed the level of implementation of the WHO COVID-19 RRRHW document using a closed ended structured questionnaire. RESULTS: five hundred and thirty-five HCWs participated in the study comprising 165(30.8%) males and 370(69.2%) females. Majority (87.3%) of the HCWs were 40 years and below. One hundred and sixty-three (30.5%) of the HCWs had been involved in the care of COVID-19 patients; less than 60% of the respondents were aware of the presence of an official platform for dissemination of information on suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 435(81.3%) were aware of hospital training on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC); 191(35.7%) have had uninterrupted supplies of personal protective equipment(PPE) and IPC materials; 211(39.4%) were aware of mental and counselling services in the hospital while only 106(19.8%) knew how to access these services; 289(54%) have attended IPC training and 307(57.4%) are able to don and doff PPE. CONCLUSION: this study showed inadequate implementation of the WHO COVID-19 RRRHW document. There is urgent need for all stakeholders to familiarize with the document in order to ensure adequate protection of HCWs and minimize their risk of contracting COVID-19.