COVID-19 and frontline health workers in West Africa: a scoping review

Abstract

Introduction The novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has become a severe global health threat since its emergence. Overcoming the virus is partly dependent on the holistic wellbeing of frontline health workers. Implications of COVID-19 on frontline health workers in West Africa could be substantial given the limited resources and logistics. This scoping review maps available literature on the impact of COVID-19 on frontline health workers in West Africa. Materials and methods Literature on the impact of COVID-19 on frontline health workers in West Africa were searched in six databases namely Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Africa Journals Online (AJOL) and CINAHL. Further search was done across websites of the ministries of health of West African countries and notable organisations. We conducted a narrative synthesis of the findings taking cognisance of the overarching purpose of the study and the research question. Results Of the 67 studies identified, 19 were included in the final synthesis. Three main themes emerged and these are impact of COVID-19 on frontline health workers, drivers of susceptibility to COVID-19 and government/donor support. A greater number of the studies originated from Nigeria. Each study reported at least one impact of COVID-19 on frontline health workers in West Africa. The impacts included death, fear, unwillingness to attend to COVID-19 patients and stigmatisation. Some health workers were not adhering to the safety protocols coupled with periodic shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and thereby had an increased susceptibility. Being the first scoping review on the impact of COVID-19 on frontline health workers in West Africa, the study has illustrated the urgent need for West African governments to enact laws/rules that would compel all frontline health workers to adhere to all the COVID-19 protocols at the workplace. To end intermittent shortage or issue of inadequate PPEs, governments ought to liaise with local industries by empowering them, providing financial support and creating a conducive atmosphere for them to produce cost effective PPEs using available local resources.