Conference abstract
Assessing the level of preparedness of healthcare workers to face future epidemics like COVID-19 and Ebola: the case of the Southwest Region
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2023:18(182).03
Oct 2023.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2023.18.182.2005
Archived on: 03 Oct 2023
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Epidemic, preparedness, response, Ebola, COVID-19, Cameroon
Poster
Assessing the level of preparedness of healthcare workers to face future epidemics like COVID-19 and Ebola: the case of the Southwest Region
Elizabeth Ayuk Ndip1,&, Zeuko’o Elizabeth Menkem1, Tendongfor Nicholas1
1University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
&Corresponding author
Introduction: the level of preparedness of a region to face health-related disasters such as epidemics is largely based on its medical workforce. Most existing primary healthcare centers in Sub-Saharan Africa currently lack access to electricity, medical equipment, and trained staff which affects their effectiveness in response to an epidemic. The objective was to assess the level of preparedness of healthcare workers of the Southwest region to face future epidemics.
Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted on 384 hospital-based healthcare staff in 16 selected health facilities of the Kumba, Tombel, Tiko, Buea, and Limbe health areas in three divisions of the Southwest region. Health districts were selected by convenient sampling, health facilities were purposefully selected, and participants were randomly selected. Ethical clearance was obtained from the IRB-FHS, and participants’ consent was obtained. Participants were administered a structured pre-tested questionnaire. The statistical tests performed were the Kruskal-Wallis test and the chi-square test of independence. Questions assessing preparedness were computed, a composite score was created, and the mean ranks were compared across socio-demographic characteristics.
Results: a total of 384 participants were recruited, out of which 262 (68.25%) were aged between 21-30 years with 276 (71.9%) being female and 108 (28.1%) male, 282 (73.4%) were nurses, 104 (27.1%) worked in the emergency department, 224 (58.3%) of participants had not had any training in outbreak management, though most participants 221 (57.6%) were prepared to face future epidemics like Covid-19 and Ebola. Association between level of preparedness and; gender (p-value 0.001), occupation (p-value 0.017), health facility (p-value of 0.019), and experience (p-value 0.039). The majority of the participants 261(35.8%) recorded media as their main source of information for outbreaks.
Conclusion: although the majority of the participants were aware of safety procedures and knowledge-based skills, a significant percentage had not received training on outbreak management. The quality of participants’ knowledge of epidemic management is unsure because most participants recorded the media as their main source of information for outbreaks. Hence, more basic training should be done, and training manuals made available to healthcare workers during epidemics and censoring of news houses towards epidemic-related information.
Assessing the level of preparedness of healthcare workers to face future epidemics like COVID-19 and Ebola: the case of the Southwest Region
Elizabeth Ayuk Ndip1,&, Zeuko’o Elizabeth Menkem1, Tendongfor Nicholas1
1University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
&Corresponding author
Introduction: the level of preparedness of a region to face health-related disasters such as epidemics is largely based on its medical workforce. Most existing primary healthcare centers in Sub-Saharan Africa currently lack access to electricity, medical equipment, and trained staff which affects their effectiveness in response to an epidemic. The objective was to assess the level of preparedness of healthcare workers of the Southwest region to face future epidemics.
Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted on 384 hospital-based healthcare staff in 16 selected health facilities of the Kumba, Tombel, Tiko, Buea, and Limbe health areas in three divisions of the Southwest region. Health districts were selected by convenient sampling, health facilities were purposefully selected, and participants were randomly selected. Ethical clearance was obtained from the IRB-FHS, and participants’ consent was obtained. Participants were administered a structured pre-tested questionnaire. The statistical tests performed were the Kruskal-Wallis test and the chi-square test of independence. Questions assessing preparedness were computed, a composite score was created, and the mean ranks were compared across socio-demographic characteristics.
Results: a total of 384 participants were recruited, out of which 262 (68.25%) were aged between 21-30 years with 276 (71.9%) being female and 108 (28.1%) male, 282 (73.4%) were nurses, 104 (27.1%) worked in the emergency department, 224 (58.3%) of participants had not had any training in outbreak management, though most participants 221 (57.6%) were prepared to face future epidemics like Covid-19 and Ebola. Association between level of preparedness and; gender (p-value 0.001), occupation (p-value 0.017), health facility (p-value of 0.019), and experience (p-value 0.039). The majority of the participants 261(35.8%) recorded media as their main source of information for outbreaks.
Conclusion: although the majority of the participants were aware of safety procedures and knowledge-based skills, a significant percentage had not received training on outbreak management. The quality of participants’ knowledge of epidemic management is unsure because most participants recorded the media as their main source of information for outbreaks. Hence, more basic training should be done, and training manuals made available to healthcare workers during epidemics and censoring of news houses towards epidemic-related information.
