A mixed cross-sectional study with natural language processing analysis on computer literacy and access among healthcare workers in Guinea
Keywords:
computer skills, health workers, sentiment analysis, GuineaAbstract
Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), technology is the backbone of services to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases. In this context, it is important to evaluate health workers' mastery of basic computer skills. This study aimed to assess the level of mastery of basic computer skills among health workers in Guinea and identify the factors that influence this computer skill mastery to propose ways to improve it.
Methods: A mixed cross-sectional study was conducted, with data analysed in two phases: descriptive analysis and logistical regression analysis for quantitative data, sentiment analysis, word cloud analysis, and qualitative content analysis for qualitative data. Python3.8 was used for all data analyses.
Results: Data were collected from 408 health workers serving in different health districts in Guinea. The proportion of healthcare workers with basic computer skills was 22.5% (92 participants). The sentiment analysis showed a highly negative sentiment (VADER compound score=-0.992) in the text analysed, which may be due to the various challenges and barriers highlighted by the respondents, such as the lack of software and training centres, limited access to computers, unstable electricity and internet connectivity, lack of computer skills and training, and barriers to access computers. The word cloud analysis indicated that the most frequent topics discussed in the text were related to "software," "lack," "electricity," "connection," "mastery," "obstacles," and "training."
Conclusion: This study highlights the challenges and barriers health workers face in accessing and using computer tools in Guinea. It is necessary to address these challenges by providing access to computer tools, improving electricity and internet connectivity, and enhancing computer skills and training for health workers.
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