Knowledge of mental health legislation in Ghana: a case of the use of certificate of urgency in mental health care.

Introduction: Mental illness can affect anyone irrespective of race, gender or personal characteristics. The study sought to investigate health workers' Knowledge on Mental Health Legislation in Ghana focusing on the Certificate of Urgency.

Methods: A descriptive study design was employed for this study. The study population included medical doctors, physician assistants, and nurses/midwives. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 384 respondents for the study. Data was collected through the use of semi-structured questionnaires.

Results: Respondents who were psychiatrists were 9.56 times more knowledgeable in the use of Certificate of Urgency than those in other specialties like primary care, obstetrics and gynaecology, surgery and internal medicine; adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 9.56 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.57-65.2]. Respondents who had used the Certificate of Urgency before had 4.7 times more knowledge as compared to those who had not used it at all; adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.77 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.021-14.01].

Conclusion: Knowledge of Certificate of Urgency was generally low. Authorities of the various hospitals should organize regular in-service training to enlighten all healthcare workers on the legislation governing mental healthcare in Ghana.