Page 85 - GHES-2-3

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Attitude of health-care workers toward hospital patients

adults and those with underlying medical conditions such investigated the experience of health-care workers during
as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic the COVID-19 crisis in Lagos, Nigeria. Their study revealed
respiratory diseases are more likely to develop serious that limited resources were the major challenges faced by
illnesses (the World Health Organization [WHO], 2020). healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in
In 2020, globally, more than 100,000,700,000 individuals Lagos, Nigeria. Similarly, Ilesanmi & Fagbule (2020), in
had been infected by COVID-19; the virus had claimed a review study, opined that limited knowledge about the
the lives of over 516,000 individuals, and an end to the novel coronavirus and an inadequate supply of personal
pandemic was not yet in perspective. However, over protective equipment (PPE) were the major challenges
548,000,000 individuals have recovered from the virus faced by healthcare workers during the COVID-19
(Worldometer, 2020). pandemic in Nigeria. Furthermore, PPE such as masks,
Health-care workers have played a prominent role in gloves, hand sanitizers, and other protective equipment is
the global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, serving not readily available in health-care facilities. Health-care
on the frontlines against the virus. The director-general workers’ lack of adequate welfare was an enormous source
of the WHO described them as the last line of defense of discouragement in an effort to combat the COVID-19
in this war. Despite their pivotal role, healthcare workers pandemic in Nigeria. Healthcare workers’ hazard
have also been identified as a vulnerable group in the fight allowances were not paid when they were due, and there
against the virus. The impact of COVID-19 on health-care were a lot of unfulfilled government promises. Healthcare
workers has been severe. Globally, over 230,000 health-care workers in Nigeria went on strike more than two times in
workers have been infected by the virus (Kenny, 2020), with 2020 in protest of the poor remuneration of doctors and
at least 62,690 cases reported among healthcare workers in other health-care practitioners (Akindare, 2020).
the United States (US) (Sternlicht, 2020). Tragically, 600 Before the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars explored the
out of the infected healthcare workers have lost their lives attitudes of health-care workers toward hospital patients
to COVID-19 (Jewett et al., 2020). In Nigeria, at least 812 in Nigeria. However, with the emergence of COVID-19,
healthcare workers have tested positive for COVID-19, the horizon has shifted drastically. Despite these changes,
including 29 cases among the staff of the Nigerian Center there have been no empirical studies investigating health-
for Disease Control (NCDC) (Adejoro, 2020). The spike care workers’ attitudes toward hospital patients during
in the number of infections and deaths among healthcare the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Hence, this study
workers was attributed to the shortage of PPE. aims to fill this gap by exploring the factors influencing
In Nigeria, various studies conducted under different healthcare workers’ attitudes toward hospital patients in
circumstances have explored the attitudes of healthcare Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following
workers toward patients. One prominent example is research questions guided the study: (i) What are the
the aftermath of the Ebola outbreak, where a significant perceptions of health-care workers’ attitudes toward
number of healthcare workers responded to patients with hospital patients during the COVID-19 pandemic?
intense fear and suspicion, leading to suboptimal care and (ii) what are the attitudes of community members/patients
attention (Oluyemi et al., 2018). Another study examined toward hospital care during the COVID-19 pandemic?
the attitudinal disposition of Nigerian health-care workers (iii) what are the measures to manage and improve the
toward human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive attitude of health-care workers toward hospital patients?
patients, revealing widespread discrimination and poor (iv) what are the roles of social workers in addressing
treatment (Daniel, 2014). Similarly, a study in Ogun State attitude-related problems among healthcare workers and
investigated the attitude of healthcare workers toward community members/patients toward hospital care during
patients and colleagues infected with HIV, revealing the COVID-19 pandemic?
discriminatory behavior driven by fear of contracting 2. Methods
the virus (Sadoh et al., 2020). This issue extends beyond
Nigeria; a study in Iran examined the knowledge levels 2.1. Research design
and attitudes of health professionals toward patients with The study was designed to examine, describe, and analyze
hepatitis C infection, revealing discriminatory attitudes the attitude of health-care workers toward hospital patients
toward these patients (Joukar et al., 2012). during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria while also
An array of studies in Nigeria has portrayed the examining the role of social workers in ensuring adequate
difficulties and challenges encountered by healthcare care for patients and the well-being of health-care workers.
workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. For The study adopted a descriptive research design, which
example, Okediran et al. (2020), using a qualitative method, is a scientific method used to learn more about a specific

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2743