Infection prevention and control compliance of healthcare workers towards COVID-19 in conflict-affected public hospitals of Ethiopia

Chala Daba; Amanuel Atamo; Daniel Gebretsadik Weldehanna; Abdi Oli; Sisay Abebe Debela; Amana Ogeto Luke; Mesfin Gebrehiwot

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074492

Infection prevention and control compliance of healthcare workers towards COVID-19 in conflict-affected public hospitals of Ethiopia

BMJ Open. 2023 Dec 30;13(12):e074492. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074492.

Authors

Chala Daba¹, Amanuel Atamo², Daniel Gebretsadik Weldehanna³, Abdi Oli⁴, Sisay Abebe Debela⁵, Amana Ogeto Luke⁶, Mesfin Gebrehiwot²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia chaladaba293@gmail.com.
² Department of Environmental Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.
³ Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.
⁴ Department of Mathemathics, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.
⁵ Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Salale University, Fitche, Ethiopia.
⁶ Department of Public Health, Lancha Campus, Rift Valley University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Objective: Non-compliance with COVID-19 infection prevention and control (IPC) is one of the global public health problems particularly among those frontline healthcare workers. However, there are no detailed investigations on COVID-19 IPC compliance among healthcare workers in conflict-affected settings. The objective of this research was to assess compliance with COVID-19 IPC measures and determine the factors associated with it among healthcare providers in Ethiopian governmental hospitals affected by conflict.

Design: A cross-sectional study was carried out within institutional settings.

Study setting and period: The study was conducted in three public hospitals located in northeastern Ethiopia during the period of March to April 2022.

Participants: Simple random sampling technique was used to select 325 healthcare workers after proportional allocation was made to each public hospital.

Primary outcome measures: The primary outcome was non-compliance with COVID-19 IPC. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with the lack of adherence to the COVID-19 IPC protocol.

Results: Nearly half (150, 46.2%) of the healthcare workers had non-compliance with COVID-19 IPC protocol. Absence of hand washing soap (adjusted OR (AOR)=2.99; 95% CI 2.46 to 5.76), workload (AOR=2.25; 95% CI 1.33 to 3.84), disruption in the supply of piped water (AOR=1.82; 95% CI 1.11 to 2.99), did not undergo training in COVID-19 IPC (AOR=2.85; 95% CI 1.85 to 4.84), absence of COVID-19 IPC guidelines (AOR=2.14; 95% CI 1.11 to 4.13) and chewing khat (AOR=2.3; 95% CI 1.32 to 3.72) were determinant factors for non-compliance.

Conclusions: The magnitude of non-compliance with COVID-19 IPC was high. Hospital managers and federal ministry of health should provide regular training on COVID-19 IPC, continuous piped water and personal protective facilities for healthcare workers. Ultimately, improving the security situation in the area would help improve COVID-19 IPC compliance among healthcare workers in these and other similar conflict-affected settings.

Keywords: COVID-19; INFECTIOUS DISEASES; Primary Health Care.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Cross-Sectional Studies
Ethiopia / epidemiology
Health Personnel
Hospitals, Public
Humans
Infection Control / methods
Water

Substances

Water