Healthcare Workers' Knowledge, Attitude, Practice and Perceived Health Facility Preparedness Regarding COVID-19 in Sierra Leone

Sulaiman Kanu; Peter Bai James; Abdulai Jawo Bah; John Alimamy Kabba; Musa Salieu Kamara; Christine Ellen Elleanor Williams; Joseph Sam Kanu

doi:10.2147/JMDH.S287156

Healthcare Workers' Knowledge, Attitude, Practice and Perceived Health Facility Preparedness Regarding COVID-19 in Sierra Leone

J Multidiscip Healthc. 2021 Jan 11:14:67-80. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S287156. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Sulaiman Kanu^#¹, Peter Bai James^#^{2

3}, Abdulai Jawo Bah^{2

4

5}, John Alimamy Kabba⁶, Musa Salieu Kamara¹, Christine Ellen Elleanor Williams⁷, Joseph Sam Kanu⁸

Affiliations

¹ University of Sierra Leone Teaching Hospital Complex, Connaught Hospital, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
² Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
³ Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
⁴ Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
⁵ Institute for Global Health and Development, Queen Margaret University Edinburg, Musselburgh, Scotland, UK.
⁶ Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, Center for Drug Safety and Policy Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, People's Republic of China.
⁷ Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
⁸ Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are known to spearhead the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, their knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are considered critical to the success of the current COVID-19 response efforts. This study aims to determine HCWs' KAP toward COVID-19 and assesses their perception of their healthcare facilities preparedness to respond appropriately to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra Leone.

Methods: We conducted an online cross-sectional study among HCWs (n=516) between 1st May 2020 and 30th June 2020. We collected our data using a self-administered structured questionnaire via email and online social media platforms. We analyzed our data using descriptive statistics and regression analysis (p<0.05).

Results: Close to three-fourth of HCWs (n=375, 72.7%) were knowledgeable regarding COVID-19. Doctors were more knowledgeable than community health workers and laboratory technicians (AOR= 2.48, 95% CI: 1.16-5.31, p=0.019) regarding COVID-19. Close to two-thirds of HCWs (n=301, 58.3%) HCWs show positive attitudes toward COVID-19. Being male (AOR=2.08, 95% CI: 1.36-3.20, p=0.001) and directly involved in COVID-19 patient care (AOR=3.21, 95% CI: 1.88-5.48, p<0.001) were identified as predictors of positive attitude towards COVID-19. HCWs are generally adhering to COVID-19 safe practices with majority indicating that they regularly wash or sanitize their hands (n=510, 98.8%) and used facemask at point of care (n=499, 96.7%). Majority of HCWs are of the view that their healthcare facilities are ill-prepared to adequately respond to COVID-19 with majority (n= 400, 77.5%) of them stating that their facilities lack enough personal protective equipment.

Conclusion: HCWs in Sierra Leone showed good knowledge, positive attitude and practice regarding COVID-19. However, HCWs are of the view that their healthcare facilities are ill-prepared to respond adequately to the COVID-19 outbreak. Health authorities and policymakers need to provide the necessary resources to allow HCWs to work in a safe environment.

Keywords: COVID-19; Sierra Leone; attitude; healthcare workers; knowledge; practice.

Grants and funding

This work was self-funded by the authors.