Introduction: COVID-19 surveillance among healthcare workers is vital to prevent hospital transmission. This study assessed healthcare workers’ willingness to voluntarily test for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 234 staff in a Nigerian tertiary healthcare facility using a 25-item questionnaire to obtain information on sociodemographic/occupational characteristics, willingness to have a COVID-19 PCR test and self-perceived barriers to testing. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25, with a significance level set at p < 0.05. Associations were tested using odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval.
Results: The mean age was 40.1±10.7 years with a male to female ratio of approximately 1:1. More than two-thirds of health workers, 159 (68.0%) perceived they were at high risk for COVID-19. Most health workers, 172 (73.5%) were willing to test voluntarily for COVID-19. For persons not willing to be tested, personal reasons (35; 56.5%) and sampling discomfort (13; 21.0%) were reasons for non-willingness to test. Being married or in a union (OR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.13-0.76; p=0.011), currently showing symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 (OR: 7.51, 95% CI: 2.191-26.70; p=0.002) and previous COVID-19 vaccination (OR: 3.35, 95% CI: 1.58-7.20; p=0.002) were the significant predictors of willingness to test for COVID-19.
Conclusion: Most health workers were willing to take a voluntary COVID-19 PCR test. The main barriers to testing were personal reasons and discomfort with the sample collection. It is important to explore alternative sample collection methods like pooled saliva-based testing and establishing multiple on-site testing centers as ways of improving voluntary testing.
