TY - JOUR
T1 - Adherence to smoke-free policies in Ghana
T2 - Findings from a cross-sectional survey of hospitality venue owners and staff
AU - Singh, Arti
AU - Dobbie, Fiona
AU - Kinnunen, Tarja I.
AU - Okello, Gabriel
AU - Semple, Sean
AU - Okyere, Portia Boakye
AU - Logo, Divine Darlington
AU - Lartey, Kwabena Fosu
AU - McNeil, Ann
AU - Britton, John
AU - Bauld, Linda
AU - Owusu-Dabo, Ellis
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Medical Research Council [grant number MR/P027946/2] with funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund. The Tobacco Control Capacity Programme is a programme of capacity development and research co-ordinated by the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and involves 15 partner institutions from Africa, South Asia and the United Kingdom.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Singh A. et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License.(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0)
PY - 2021/1/18
Y1 - 2021/1/18
N2 - INTRODUCTION Implementation of and compliance with smoke-free policies (SFPs) can be problematic in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to limited resources. This study evaluated knowledge, opinions and compliance related to Ghana’s SFPs among owners and staff of hospitality venues by city, staff designation, and venue type. METHODS A cross-sectional study design was used in venue types including hotels, bars, pubs and restaurants in the three cities of Kumasi, Accra, and Tamale, in Ghana. Data were collected between July and September 2019. Interviewer administered face-to-face surveys were conducted with owners and staff (n=142) recruited from randomly selected hospitality venues (n=154) in these three large cities of Ghana. The relationship between knowledge, opinions, and compliance items on SFPs, and city, venue type and staff designation was first studied using χ2 or a Fisher’s exact test, and then with univariate logistic regression model analysis. RESULTS Of the 142 respondents, some had heard of Ghana’s 2012 Tobacco Control Act (27.5%), smoking restriction in public places (29%), smoke-free places (22%), and display of ‘no smoking’ signage (6.3%). Knowledge levels were higher in Accra compared to Tamale (OR=3.08; 95% CI: 1.10–8.60). Staff designation and type of venue did not have any relationship with knowledge levels. Support for SFPs was over 80%, but opinions in support of SFPs were lower in Accra than Tamale (OR=0.25; 95% CI: 0.08–0.71). Compliance with SFPs was similar in the three cities. Hotels were three times more compliant compared to bars and pubs (OR=3.16; 95% CI: 1.48–6.71). CONCLUSIONS The study highlights the strong support for restriction of smoking in public places including hospitality venues despite poor knowledge and low compliance levels with the current SFPs. A review of the current SFP in Ghana together with education of hospitality staff on the benefits and requirements of SFPs is recommended.
AB - INTRODUCTION Implementation of and compliance with smoke-free policies (SFPs) can be problematic in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to limited resources. This study evaluated knowledge, opinions and compliance related to Ghana’s SFPs among owners and staff of hospitality venues by city, staff designation, and venue type. METHODS A cross-sectional study design was used in venue types including hotels, bars, pubs and restaurants in the three cities of Kumasi, Accra, and Tamale, in Ghana. Data were collected between July and September 2019. Interviewer administered face-to-face surveys were conducted with owners and staff (n=142) recruited from randomly selected hospitality venues (n=154) in these three large cities of Ghana. The relationship between knowledge, opinions, and compliance items on SFPs, and city, venue type and staff designation was first studied using χ2 or a Fisher’s exact test, and then with univariate logistic regression model analysis. RESULTS Of the 142 respondents, some had heard of Ghana’s 2012 Tobacco Control Act (27.5%), smoking restriction in public places (29%), smoke-free places (22%), and display of ‘no smoking’ signage (6.3%). Knowledge levels were higher in Accra compared to Tamale (OR=3.08; 95% CI: 1.10–8.60). Staff designation and type of venue did not have any relationship with knowledge levels. Support for SFPs was over 80%, but opinions in support of SFPs were lower in Accra than Tamale (OR=0.25; 95% CI: 0.08–0.71). Compliance with SFPs was similar in the three cities. Hotels were three times more compliant compared to bars and pubs (OR=3.16; 95% CI: 1.48–6.71). CONCLUSIONS The study highlights the strong support for restriction of smoking in public places including hospitality venues despite poor knowledge and low compliance levels with the current SFPs. A review of the current SFP in Ghana together with education of hospitality staff on the benefits and requirements of SFPs is recommended.
KW - compliance
KW - Ghana
KW - hospitality staff
KW - knowledge
KW - smoke-free policy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100680591&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.18332/TPC/131058
DO - 10.18332/TPC/131058
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85100680591
SN - 2459-3087
VL - 7
SP - 1
EP - 13
JO - Tobacco Prevention & Cessation
JF - Tobacco Prevention & Cessation
ER -