Perception of risk and compliance with COVID-19 safety guidelines among healthcare workers in Ghana: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background: Healthcare workers are the ‘frontline’ in the provision of effective and quality healthcare delivery, yet they are beset with several occupational hazards and risks when providing care especially during a global health crisis. With limited health resources availability during patient care delivery coupled with relatively little evidence on compliance to infection prevention practices, this study investigates healthcare workers’ compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols and identifies factors associated with their perceived risk of COVID-19. Methods: This cross-sectional survey utilized non-probability sampling strategies to obtain primary data from both clinical and non-clinical health workers in various health facilities within four regions of Ghana. Structured questionnaires designed using Google forms and paper-based questionnaires were used. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the factors associated with the perceived risk of COVID-19. Results: A total of 513 questionnaires were obtained at the end of the study. The results showed that healthcare workers are highly compliant with hand hygiene practices and wearing face masks. Results from the regression analysis showed that the number of working years a healthcare worker had spent, category of health professional, type of health facility, region of work, frequency of COVID-19 test, and compliance with hand hygiene practices were strongly associated with healthcare workers’ perception of risk of COVID-19. Conclusion: Findings suggest that both individual and health system factors are significant in increasing the risk of COVID-19 among healthcare workers. Efforts at enforcing strict compliance with infection prevention should be implemented to protect the health workforce and mitigate against the transmission of the coronavirus.