Occupational risk factors of contracting COVID-19 among health workers: A systematic review

Nurses' Experiences of Care in Portuguese Nursing Homes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Focus Group Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable influence on long-term care facilities, exposing the shortcomings of nursing homes in implementing recommendations by health authorities. It also emphasizes the need for a nursing management model customized to the vulnerable status of residents, organizational demands, and occupational nursing requirements. We aimed to characterize the perspectives of nurses who have experienced COVID-19 in nursing homes regarding measures implemented to avoid or manage outbreaks in that environment. An interview was conducted with a focus group following the consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative research guidelines. Data analysis was performed using WebQDA software following a thematic category orientation. Eight Portuguese nurses working in nursing homes from the country's central area participated in this study. We identified three major significant areas for long-term care respiratory outbreak management: strategic (policy, staffing, and resources); tactical (training, organization, engagement, and supervision); and operational planning (vigilance, prevention of disease spread, and family involvement). From the participants' view, the management of COVID-19 in nursing homes must be highly supportive and responsive, offering resources to control risks, supporting residents' care, and ensuring the safety and well-being of residents and staff members. Saturation was not reached; thus, further research is needed in this area.

Pelvic floor dysfunction and its impact on quality of life among female health care employees

BACKGROUND

In today's fast-paced world, both men and women have to be equally competent to handle their responsibilities in order to look after their family members and children. In this pace of competency women tend to forget to take care of their own health and face many health issues, including pelvic floor dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to analyse the prevalence rate of pelvic floor dysfunction among the working women in regards to their age and body mass index as well as their quality of life.

METHODS

One hundred sixty one post-partum working female participants from the medical fraternity were involved in this study after their consent was obtained. Pelvic floor muscle strength was assessed and their quality of life measured using King's health questionnaire.

RESULTS

There was a strong correlation between the pelvic floor muscle dysfunction and its impact on the quality of life among the females with increasing age. Significant statistical significant difference of P(<0.0001) was noted.

CONCLUSION

Pelvic floor dysfunction among females has a direct impact on their quality of life.

COVID-19 prevalence and infection control practices among dentists in Andhra Pradesh State, India

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic posed a new challenge not only to public health but also to the health care systems and dentists are one of the highly vulnerable health care professionals for COVID-19 infection.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the COVID-19 prevalence, associated factors, and infection control practices among dentists in Andhra Pradesh State, IndiaMETHODS:A cross-sectional web-based questionnaire survey was conducted among dentists in Andhra Pradesh state, India. 21-item pretested questionnaire was used for data collection between January 30, 2021 and February 21, 2021. 3700 dentists from the Andhra Pradesh state were selected from the Dentists Register of India through systematic random sampling method.

RESULTS

Out of 3700 dentists invited to participate in this study, responses from 1876 dentists were received with response rate of 51%. Prevalence of 8 among the study population was 9%. Patients were the primary source of infection for 60.5% of the COVID-19 positive study participants. 65.8% of total respondents using full face shield and two-third of them using N-95 or equivalent mask while providing dental care.

CONCLUSION

This study found a high prevalence rate of COVID 19 among the dentists. Among the associated factors, being into active practice during the pandemic was found to be statistically significant. This study recommend for additional infection control protocols specific to the COVID-19 pandemic.

How do medication errors occur in the nursing communication process? Investigating the relationship between error types and error factors

BACKGROUND

Human error types and error factors are two important elements of error analysis. Understanding the relationship between them can contribute to new case analyses, the tendency of error occurrence statistics, error factor identification, and prevention of error recurrence.

OBJECTIVE

To provide evidence and guidance for the prevention and improvement of medication communication errors by quantitatively exploring the relationship between error types and error factors.

METHODS

Data were collected on self-reported errors in the medication administration process by nurses in all departments of three cooperative medical institutions, and an error sheet of specified style was adopted. Error types were determined by the systematic human error reduction and prediction approach method and human cognition processes. Error factors were extracted using the root cause analysis combined with Berlo's communication model, and the relationship between error types and error factors was quantitatively studied using the partial least-squares regression method.

RESULTS

After a one-by-one analysis of 303 error cases, the communication errors occurring in the nursing medication process could be explained by six error types and 12 error factors. In addition, 20 correlation patterns between the error types and error factors were quantitatively obtained, and their path coefficient distributions ranged from 0.088 to 0.467.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study may provide reference to understand errors and establish countermeasures from the statistics of error occurrence trends, extract error factors related to error types and determine key error factors.

Continuing work in times of COVID-19: Protection measures in the workplace for health professionals

BACKGROUND

The arrival of COVID-19 in Brazil and the accelerated process of dissemination/contamination added to the evolution of the clinical picture of the disease, and the saturation of the capacity of health services, creating new challenges for researchers, governments, and professionals involved in the occupational health area.

OBJECTIVE

This article aims to systematize and synthesize the proposals adopted by the legislation and by the Brazilian State, with a focus on worker protection and guaranteeing a safe work environment for the performance of their professional activities.

METHODS

This is qualitative bibliographical research of the narrative literature review type, developed from October 2020 to June 2021 in legislation databases using the strategy: "COVID-19" AND "coronavirus/coronavirus" AND "worker health" on official Brazilian government websites.

RESULTS

The lack of an emergency plan for efficient actions to respond to the epidemic caused and is still causing the daily deaths of workers.

CONCLUSION

There is a need to guarantee the effectiveness of national and international policies and norms that have been neglected by the Brazilian government.

COVID-19 testing in Delaware’s underserved communities: demographic and social determinants of testing inequality

Background

Health experts believe that frequent COVID-19 testing is one of the most important practices for stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Demographic and social factors might play a role in whether a person gets tested for COVID. This present study aimed to investigate (1) the demographic and social factors affecting a person’s likelihood of getting tested for COVID-19, and (2) the demographic and social factors related to a positive serology test (i.e., indicating likely past infection).

Methods

Data were extracted from a survey conducted in Delaware’s underserved communities. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their COVID-19 testing history, and nurses at the study site collected a serology sample from each participant.

Results

Our results indicated that Black or Hispanic individuals living in underserved communities had greater odds of having been tested previously for COVID compared to being non-Hispanic White. In addition, our study found that being female, educated, feeling safe in one’s neighborhood, being vaccinated against COVID, and being an essential worker increased one’s odds of having been previously tested for COVID-19. Regarding the results of the COVID-19 antibody serology tests, our findings revealed that Hispanic respondents were more likely to have a positive serology test compared to non-Hispanic White respondents, indicating that the Hispanic individuals were more likely to contract the virus. Educated individuals were less likely to have a positive serology test compared to the less-educated. Those who expressed hesitancy about getting vaccinated for COVID-19 and identified themselves as essential workers were more likely to have a positive serology test and to have previously contracted the virus.

Conclusions

Identifying key factors associated with COVID-19 testing may help establish novel strategies to increase testing rates among vulnerable population. Public health and policy implications are discussed in the article.

An assessment on loss of workforce due to COVID-19 among healthcare personnel: A university hospital experience

BACKGROUND: Healthcare personnel are among the COVID-19 risk groups. For this reason, increased absence from work affects the loss of labor. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the workforce loss amongst health personnel working in our hospital due to COVID-19 in a one-year period. METHODS: Workforce loss of healthcare workers was assessed via absenteeism and life expectancy. Loss of workforce for COVID-19 PCR positive or PCR negative but CT findings compatible with COVID-19 and personnel with high-risk exposure for COVID-19 were determined with absenteeism. Healthcare personnel who passed away due to COVID-19 was determined with the consideration of the retirement age and expected life years. RESULTS: Total lost time from work was 14635 days (excluding deaths). Loss of workforce rates resulting from COVID-19 positivity for male employees was greater in comparison to the results for females (p = 0.018). High-risk exposure of healthcare personnel working in clinical sciences was higher than those in other departments (p < 0.001). Total loss in workforce for 3 people passed away was 14 years 5 months, and total life expectancy was 64 years. Healthcare personnel under the age of 40 had less absenteeism than those over 40 years (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: It was observed that all occupational groups working at the hospital were impacted by COVID-19. The two most important factors that influenced absenteeism were the reason for being affected (positivity and high risk) and age. Absenteeism and daily case tracing of healthcare personnel working on the frontlines will aid in both the pandemic control and management of workload for those left behind.

Working with patients and the mental health of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Anxiety and concern are among the most common problems facing healthcare workers (HCWs) during epidemic diseases. OBJECTIVE: To identify the predictive factors of anxiety, fears, and psychological distress among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: An online survey method was used on a sample of 153 of HCWs; (110) frontline and (43) non-frontline HCWs. They answered on the Hamilton anxiety rating scale, the Kessler psychological distress scale (K10), and the COVID-19 Concerns Questionnaire. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that 47.05% of HCWs have a severe level of fear related to COVID-19, 43.13% have very severe anxiety, and 30.71% experience severe psychological distress. The differences between frontline and non-frontline HCWs, female and male HCWs, and HCWs working in medical clinics, on quarantine, or in another place were significant in the three scales. Predictive factors of anxiety, fear, and psychological distress include working on the front lines, being female, and being over 50 years old. Meanwhile, working in a workplace with COVID-19 patients predicted anxiety and psychological distress, but not fears associated with COVID-19. CONCLUSION: HCWs have a high prevalence of symptoms of mental disorders that may interfere with their work. These results may have therapeutic applications during pandemics.

“Working in the Dark”: Experiences of Frontline Health Workers in Bangladesh During COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction

Frontline health workers (FHW) are working relentlessly to combat the COVID-19 pandemic globally. This is particularly challenging for low- and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh because of resource scarcity. Therefore, it is critical to understand the challenges of healthcare providers to help shaping a contextual pandemic response plan address current and future similar crises.

Aim

This study aimed to describe the challenges faced by FHWs in Bangladesh in terms of information on COVID-19, managing patients with COVID-19, and what motivated them to continue providing service during the pandemic.

Methods

This qualitative study explored the experiences of 18 FHWs who were purposely recruited from different health interventions of a development organization in Bangladesh. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted during July–August 2020 using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and content analysis was used to analyze the data which led to four categories.

Results

Four main categories and ten sub-categories emerged from the analysis. Categories derived from the analysis were as follows: i) experiences of the FHWs regarding information on COVID-19: “Working in the dark”, ii) experience of providing care: “Patients are grateful”, iii) impact on personal/family life: “Life is still in lockdown” and iv) motivation to carry on providing care.

Conclusion

FHWs desire a stable information source to prepare themselves for future health care crises. Organizational support is essential for them to overcome physical and mental struggles and keep themselves motivated to continue service provision during pandemics.

ABO Blood Group Incompatibility Protects Against SARS-CoV-2 Transmission

ABO blood groups appear to be associated with the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the underlying mechanisms and their real importance remain unclear. Two hypotheses have been proposed: ABO compatibility-dependence (neutralization by anti-ABO antibodies) and ABO-dependent intrinsic susceptibility (spike protein attachment to histo-blood group glycans). We tested the first hypothesis through an anonymous questionnaire addressed to hospital staff members. We estimated symptomatic secondary attack rates (SAR) for 333 index cases according to spouse ABO blood group compatibility. Incompatibility was associated with a lower SAR (28% vs. 47%; OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.27–0.69), but no ABO dependence was detected in compatible situations. For the second hypothesis, we detected no binding of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 RBD to blood group-containing glycans. Thus, although no intrinsic differences in susceptibility according to ABO blood type were detected, ABO incompatibility strongly decreased the risk of COVID-19 transmission, suggesting that anti-ABO antibodies contribute to virus neutralization.

A SARS-CoV-2 Infection High-Uptake Program on Healthcare Workers and Cancer Patients of the National Cancer Institute of Naples, Italy

Background: From the beginning of 2020, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) quickly spread worldwide, becoming the main problem for the healthcare systems. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at higher risk of infection and can be a dangerous vehicle for the spread of the virus. Furthermore, cancer patients (CPs) are a vulnerable population, with an increased risk of developing severe and lethal forms of Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19). Therefore, at the National Cancer Institute of Naples, where only cancer patients are treated, a surveillance program aimed to prevent the hospital access of SARS-CoV-2 positive subjects (HCWs and CPs) was implemented. The study aims to describe the results of the monitoring activity for the SARS-CoV-2 spread among HCWs and CPs, from March 2020 to March 2021. Methods: This surveillance program included a periodic sampling through nasopharyngeal molecular swabs for SARS-CoV-2 (Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, RT-PCR). CPs were submitted to the molecular test at least 48 h before hospital admission. Survival analysis and multiple logistic regression models were performed among HCWs and CPs to assess the main SARS-CoV-2 risk factors. Results: The percentages of HCWs tested with RT-PCR for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, according to the first and the second wave, were 79.7% and 91.7%, respectively, while the percentages for the CPs were 24.6% and 39.6%. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 20 (1.7%) HCWs of the 1204 subjects tested during the first wave, and in 127 (9.2%) of 1385 subjects tested in the second wave (p < 0.001); among CPs, the prevalence of patients tested varied from 100 (4.6%) during the first wave to 168 (4.9%) during the second wave (p = 0.8). The multivariate logistic analysis provided a significant OR for nurses (OR = 2.24, 95% CI 1.23–4.08, p < 0.001) compared to research, administrative staff, and other job titles. Conclusions: Our findings show that the positivity rate between the two waves in the HCWs increased over time but not in the CPs; therefore, the importance of adopting stringent measures to contain the shock wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the hospital setting was essential. Among HCWs, nurses are more exposed to contagion and patients who needed continuity in oncological care for diseases other than COVID-19, such as suspected cancer.