Page 87 - GHES-2-3

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

Among those selected, only those available were eventually discussing healthcare workers’ attitudes toward hospital
interviewed, according to availability sampling principles. patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. One nurse,
The additional 10 community members who participated in particular, declined to participate in the study and
in the study were chosen using availability sampling. expressed concerns about potential repercussions despite
Criteria for their selection included recent hospital visits for assurances from researchers that participation was strictly
treatment within 6 months from the date of the first reported for academic purposes and guaranteed the anonymity of
COVID-19 case in Nigeria on February 27, 2020. the respondents. There were also financial constraints;
the researcher received no funding for the study. This
2.5. Instrument for data collection limitation restricted the sample size due to the researchers’
The instrument for data collection was an unstructured, limited out-of-pocket expenses. Despite these limitations,
in-depth interview (IDI) guide. This made it possible for the study remains valuable and contributes significantly to
the inclusion of strong themes identified in the field. The both theoretical understanding and practical implications.
data for the study were collected between October 5, 2020,
and November 30, 2020. One-third of the interviews were 3. Results
done over the telephone because of the prevalence of the 3.1. Demographic characteristics of the respondents
COVID-19 pandemic at the time and compliance with
strict preventive measures. The researchers were assisted by This section presents the demographic characteristics of
research assistance from the Department of Social Work, the study respondents. The presented variables include
University of Nigeria, Nsukka. A qualitative approach was gender, age, occupation, religion, educational qualification,
employed for the study using thematic analysis. The audio and marital status.
records were transcribed and categorized into themes. Table 1 summarizes the demographic characteristics of
the 17 study participants, whereby six respondents were
2.6. COVID-19 protocol male and 11 were female. The mean age of the respondents
Special precautions were adhered to in line with the was 41 years. In addition, the occupational distribution
guidelines from the NCDC for COVID-19 infection of the respondent comprises four healthcare workers
prevention. These guidelines included wearing face masks (including a doctor, a public healthcare worker, and two
throughout interviews, maintaining a two-meter distance nurses), three medical social workers, three farmers,
between the interviewer and interviewee, and using hand two traders, a salesgirl, a civil servant, a provision store
sanitizer before and after the interview. In addition, one- seller, and a nursing mother. Religious affiliations were
third of the interviews were conducted through phone to predominantly Christians (13), with two respondents
further observe a stringent social distancing protocol. The belonging to African traditional religion (ATR) and one
cost of the PPE, such as nose masks, hand gloves, and hand respondent identifying as an atheist. The distribution of
sanitizers, was funded entirely through the researchers’ the respondents by educational qualification included
personal expenses, without any external funding or aid. four with a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree, four with
a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree, one with a Higher
2.7. Ethical approval National Diploma (HND), one with an Ordinary National
Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained from Diploma (OND), four with West African Examination
the Ethical Review Board of the UNTH, Ituku Ozalla. The Council (WAEC) certification, and three with a First
approval number is NHREC/05/01/2008B-FWA00002458- School Leaving Certificate (FSLC). Marital status among
1RB00002323. This approval was crucial to ensuring the respondents was as follows: 14 were married, two were
safety of human subjects involved in the data collection single, and one was widowed.
process. Verbal informed consent was obtained from all
the respondents before the interviews were conducted. The 3.2. Public perception of the attitude of healthcare
respondents were informed that participation in the study workers toward hospital patients during COVID-19
was voluntary and that they had the right to withdraw from pandemic
the study at any point during the interview. The anonymity The study revealed that hospital staff members’ attitudes
of the respondents was strictly observed throughout the toward patients during the COVID-19 epidemic were
study to ensure confidentiality. extremely unfavorable and subpar. Healthcare workers
could not effectively attend to patients because of their
2.8. Limitations of the study fear of contracting COVID-19. Patients were avoided by
The study encountered several limitations. Many healthcare medical practitioners during this period. This sentiment
workers declined to participate, citing discomfort in was captured in the following illustrative quotes:

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 4 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2743