Adherence to guidelines on quality neonatal resuscitation practices among healthcare professionals in Ghana: an observational study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The study evaluated healthcare professionals' adherence to guidelines on quality neonatal resuscitation practices in Ghana.

DESIGN: This study employed an observational design. A validated observational checklist for neonatal resuscitation was used to assess the adherence to quality neonatal resuscitation guidelines among healthcare professionals.

SETTING: The study was conducted among healthcare professionals in six healthcare facilities, consisting of five government-owned healthcare facilities and a private non-profit health facility across the northern, middle and coastal belts of Ghana.

PARTICIPANTS: The study participants were 75 healthcare professionals across the six sampled healthcare facilities.

OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcome measures of interest are: initial preparation prior to resuscitation; stimulation and airway maintenance; positive pressure ventilation; coordinated positive pressure ventilation with chest compression and postresuscitation infection prevention and control measures.

RESULTS: The results revealed that 53% of the healthcare professionals demonstrated good (scored 80%-100%) adherence to guidelines on quality neonatal resuscitation practices; the remaining scored moderate 36% (scored 50%-79%) and 11% (scored 0%-49%) poor adherence. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that increased staffing levels and a bachelor's degree or higher were positively associated with the performance of positive pressure ventilation (adjusted OR (aOR) 19.3 (95% CI 2.430799, 152.8657), p=0.005) and (aOR 9.9 (95% CI 1.070278, 92.38303), p=0.043), respectively. Furthermore, professional nurses and medical practitioners were more likely to adhere to coordinated positive pressure ventilation with chest compressions than auxiliary nursing staff (aOR 13.2 (95% CI 1.917858, 92.61999), p=0.009) and (aOR 15.7 (95% CI 1.227859, 200.1105), p=0.034).

CONCLUSION: The results showed that 53% of healthcare professionals demonstrated good adherence for neonatal resuscitation practices. Addressing the identified gaps and inequalities in neonatal resuscitation practice will improve healthcare professionals' knowledge and skills in neonatal resuscitation, which ultimately helps to reduce neonatal deaths among babies in Ghana.