The World Health Organization’s Surgical Safety Checklist: Acceptability Among Surgical Personnel In Korle Bu Teaching Hospital In Accra, Ghana.

80 PAGES (16680 WORDS) Public Health Dissertation

ABSTRACT Background: Despite the encouraging outcomes, the use of the WHO SSC is poor, with compliance as low as about 12% in some areas. This study was conducted to investigate the factors that influence acceptability and utilization of the WHO SSC among surgical personnel in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional design that employed quantitative method of data collection was conducted among 186 surgical personnel at the KBTH in Ghana. Data was obtained from May to June 2019 using structured questionnaires. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between socio-demographic characteristics, training on SSC, surgical subspecialty and adherence to WHO SSC. Results: Out of the 190 personnel recruited, 186 consented and participated in this study giving a response rate of 97.9%. Participants were made up of 69 (37%) surgeons, 66 (36%) anaesthesiologists and 51 (27%) nurses. This study found a high level of awareness and acceptability of the WHO SSC among theatre staff at the KBTH. Adherence however was low. Only 30.4% of surgical personnel at the KBTH use the SSC all the time. The majority (67.7%) of the surgical personnel had no training on the use of the SSC and the proportion was significantly higher among the Surgeons (81.2%) as compared to the Nurses (51%) and Anesthesiologists (66.7%) (p