Occupational health hazards among healthcare providers and ancillary staff in Ghana: a scoping review

Abstract

Objective The strict implementation of occupational health and safety policy curbs exposure to occupational hazards. However, empirical evidence is lacking in the Ghanaian context. This review primarily aimed to explore exposure to occupational hazards among healthcare providers and ancillary staff in Ghana.Design A scoping review was conducted based on Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework and Levac et al’s methodological enhancement.Data sources Searches were conducted of the PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO and Scopus databases, as well as Google Scholar and websites of tertiary institutions in Ghana, for publications from 1 January 2010 to 30 November 2021.Eligibility criteria Quantitative studies that were published in the English language and focused on occupational exposure to biological and/or non-biological hazards among healthcare professionals in Ghana were included.Data extraction and synthesis Two independent reviewers extracted the data based on the type of occupational exposure and descriptive characteristics of the studies. The data are presented in tables and graphs. A narrative summary of review findings was prepared based on the review research questions.Results Our systematic search strategy retrieved 507 publications; however, only 43 met the inclusion criteria. A little over one-quarter were unpublished theses/dissertations. The included studies were related to biological, psychosocial, ergonomic and other non-biological hazards. 55.8% of the studies were related to exposure to biological hazards and related preventive measures. In general, health workers were reported to use and comply with control and preventive measures; however, knowledge of control and preventive measures was suboptimal.Conclusion Work is needed to address the issue of occupational health hazard exposure in Ghana’s health system. More research is needed to understand the extent of these exposures and their effects on the health system.