Resource availability for infection prevention in early childhood education centres from Southern Ghana

Abstract

Background: Teachers in early childhood education centers are the epitome of care concerning infection prevention for young children in educational programmes. The objective was a comparative descriptive quantitative survey was used to assess the knowledge, practice and resources availability for infection prevention in early childhood education centres in the Suhum Municipality. Methods: One hundred and sixty (160) teachers from 52 randomly selected early childhood centres; cretches, nurseries, day cares and kindergartens were recruited for the study and assessed for resource availability for infection prevention. Results: The findings of the study revealed that both public and private teachers in early childhood education centres have a good knowledge about infection prevention measures and control. Knowledge level on infection prevention is comparable between the two categories of teachers (P=0.200). However, the high knowledge did not translate into practice due to non-availability of resources for the implementation of infection prevention. It was observed that most of the learning centres visited were overcrowded (exceeded GES recommended 28 children per a teacher ratio). There were also inadequate and inappropriate sanitary facilities in the studied early childhood education centres. The private schools were better resourced than the public schools (P=0.001). Conclusions: It was concluded that caregivers in childhood education centres received adequate training on infection prevention before and during employment. The Ministry Of Education and Ghana Health Service must ensure there are adequate sanitary facilities before approval is given for the running of the programme and regular monitoring must be done to ensure their sustainability.