Occupational hazard incident reporting systems in health facilities across sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review protocol

Introduction Occupational hazards (OH) in healthcare facilities are common, with 1 in 10 healthcare workers experiencing a hazard each year. These hazards can be either biological, chemical, ergonomic, or radiation. Despite their occurrence, reporting of these hazards remains limited, with very little information available, especially from healthcare facilities. Also, there is limited information on incident reporting systems (IRSs), which can help capture, track, and monitor the occurrence of these hazards within health facilities. The absence of these systems results in inaccurate and incomplete reporting and fragmented data, hindering the implementation of effective occupational safety measures in hospitals. This review will explore the extent and nature of information available on occupational hazard incident reporting systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Methods The review will be conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology of scoping reviews and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A robust search strategy shall be conducted in different scientific databases, including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science, guided by the Population, Concept, and Context framework. Studies describing incident reporting systems shall be considered in this review. The search results will be collated and uploaded to Covidence, where duplicates will be removed and titles and abstracts screened. Search and screening of studies have not yet commenced. Discussion and conclusion Occupational health and safety are vital to the functioning of healthcare facilities because they promote well-being and protect both patients and healthcare workers. It is vital to ensure accurate and robust IRS are in place, especially given the occurrence of occupational hazards across hospital wards. These IRS will help with surveillance and the identification of epidemiological trends in OH among health workers. Protocol Registration The protocol has not been registered.