Protecting health-care workers from subclinical coronavirus infection

Purpose: To assess anxiety, stress level, and perception of safety during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in health care workers (HCWs) of one of Germany’s largest urology university clinics. Methods: A cross-sectional study among urological HCWs was performed. HCWs were surveyed for anxiety about the pandemic, stress level and current workload, fear of coronavirus infection, current perception of safety at work, and attitude towards protective equipment and tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Results: Sixty-three HCWs filled in the questionnaire. Overall anxiety of infection with COVID-19 is at a median of 4.7 with no statistically significant difference between nurses and physicians (p = 0.0749). Safety at work reaches a median of 6 out of 10. In fact, the highest fear in 56.7% (31/63) of the personnel is to get infected by a colleague tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 despite wearing surgical face masks. A proportion of 55.7 and 74.6% highly favor swabs for SARS-CoV-2 on a regular basis in HCWs and patients, respectively (p = 0.0001). Workload in the urology department is clearly reduced during the pandemic (physicians 39.3% vs. nurses 32.2%, p = 0.0001) and 57.4% do not feel distress at all; only 27.9% express mental distress. Conclusion: During the pandemic, urology HCWs perceive lower burden by workload and deem themselves at low risk of infection. However, the greatest anxiety is related to infection by a SARS-CoV-2-positive colleague, despite reciprocal protection by surgical face masks. This highlights a relevant mental stress and uncertainty towards management of infected HCWs, calling for increased education and psychological support.

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Update Alert 7: Epidemiology of and Risk Factors for Coronavirus Infection in Health Care Workers

Annals of Internal Medicine ◽

10.7326/l21-0034 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Roger Chou ◽

Tracy Dana ◽

David I. Buckley ◽

Shelley Selph ◽

Rongwei Fu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Care Workers ◽

Coronavirus Infection

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Occupational diseases of health care workers from exposure to infectious agents: the current state of the problem

Russian Journal of Occupational Health and Industrial Ecology ◽

10.31089/1026-9428-2021-61-1-13-17 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 61 (1) ◽

pp. 13-17

Author(s):

Railya V. Garipova ◽

Leonid A. Strizhakov ◽

Karina T. Umbetova ◽

Kadriya R. Safina

Keyword(s):

Infectious Disease ◽

Health Care ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Viral Hepatitis ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Occupational Diseases ◽

Biological Factor ◽

Care Workers ◽

Coronavirus Infection ◽

The Republic

Introduction. Infectious diseases occupy a leading place in the structure of occupational diseases (OD) of health care workers (HCW). If until 2020, the main OD from exposure to a biological factor were tuberculosis and viral hepatitis (VH), then in 2020 the world faced another infectious disease of professional etiology - infection of health workers with a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The aim of the study is to identify problematic issues in establishing the connection of an infectious disease with a profession in health care workers. Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of cases of occupational diseases was applied according to the data of the Department of Rospotrebnadzor for the Republic of Tatarstan (RT) and the register of patients of the Republican Center of Occupational Pathology. Results. Among the health care workers of the Republic of Tatarstan, mainly occupational infectious diseases are diagnosed (88.9%). Tuberculosis is the most common occupational disease among health care workers of the Republic of Tatarstan, accounting for 68.4%, and viral hepatitis accounts for 20.5%. In 2020, the most common OD from biological factors in the health care workers of RT was infection COVID-19. Conclusions. Currently, the most common disease of infectious genesis in health care workers is a new coronavirus infection. For a high-quality examination of the connection of an infectious disease with a profession, the list of documents must include a card of epidemiological examination, which must be filled in by an epidemiologist not after establishing the connection of the disease with the profession, but in parallel with the preparation of a sanitary and hygienic characteristic (SGC) of working conditions.

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COVID-19 and Dentistry — Are we Ready

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽

10.26452/ijrps.v11ispl1.3692 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽

pp. 1452-1457

Author(s):

Nandini Prakash Hake ◽

Kumar Gaurav Chhabra ◽

Akib Sheikh ◽

Sayali Limsay ◽

Simran Nathani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Dental Health ◽

Dental Patients ◽

Dental Health Care ◽

Human Contact ◽

Dental Procedures ◽

Care Workers ◽

Coronavirus Infection ◽

General Wellbeing

The pandemic of coronavirus infection 2019 (COVID-19) started from Wuhan, China, in December a year ago and has become a significant test to general wellbeing China as well as nations around the globe. Affecting the population of 4,735,622 in the world and leads to the death of 316,289 till 19th May 2020, according to reports of WHO. The COVID-19 spread rapidly by a human to human contact through small droplets from mouth and nose. Other possible routes of transmission for COVID-19, include airborne spread via aerosols produces during dental procedures. The dentists are at higher risk of getting infected by coronavirus disease with many routine dental procedures having the possibility to transmit the virus through aerosols. During the time of COVID-19 pandemic disease, the health care workers should be provided with protective apparatus including face shields, goggles, mask, gloves, gown or coverall, headcover and rubber boots. American Dental Association has maintained a consistency neutral stance since the pandemic was recognized. They appealed dental health care workers to put off elective dental procedures for dental patients and to provide only urgent dental care. Essential phone screening to distinguish suspected patients or likely COVID-19 contaminated can be correctly done during routine dental arrangements. This review highlights on the structure of coronavirus, its modes of communication, how dental health care workers are at higher risk, urgent dental procedures that should only begin during the crisis and basis preventive measures taken by dental health care workers.

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Update Alert: Epidemiology of and Risk Factors for Coronavirus Infection in Health Care Workers

Annals of Internal Medicine ◽

10.7326/l20-0768 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 173 (2) ◽

pp. W46-W47 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Roger Chou ◽

Tracy Dana ◽

David I. Buckley ◽

Shelley Selph ◽

Rongwei Fu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Care Workers ◽

Coronavirus Infection

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THE STATE OF SAFETY AND HYGIENE OF WORK OF MEDICAL WORKERS IN MODERN CONDITIONS

Bulletin of Lviv State University of Life Safety ◽

10.32447/20784643.22.2020.08 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 ◽

pp. 59-65

Author(s):

V. Fedorchuk-Moroz ◽

M. Rudynets ◽

M.-B. Moroz

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Occupational Diseases ◽

Occupational Safety ◽

The State ◽

Occupational Safety And Health ◽

Safety And Health ◽

Care Workers ◽

Coronavirus Infection

Problem. In modern conditions as health care workers are fighting the coronavirus infection, the state of their occupational safety and hygiene needs to be studied. The article is devoted to this problem.Aim. The work aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment of occupational safety and hygiene of health care workers and develop recommendations for its improvement in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Research methods. During performing the research used complex methods of scientific knowledge: the philosophi-cal (dialectical), general (methods of complex, formal-logical and systematic analysis and synthesis) and comparative-law.The object of the study is the safety and hygiene of health care workers.The scientific novelty lies in a comprehensive study of theoretical and practical aspects of occupational safety and hygiene of medical workers to reduce occupational injuries and occupational diseases, as well as to lower the degree of occupational risks.Results. The article considers the state of occupational safety and health of health care workers, who in the performance of their professional duties face a whole range of dangerous and harmful factors that can lead to the development of occupational diseases. Coronavirus infection paid particular attention. The article analyzes the latest research and publications on this issue, examines current law and regulations, considers the rights of physicians to healthy and safe working conditions.Conclusions and recommendations. In order to improve the state of occupational safety and hygiene of health care workers we recommend: to resume the operation of sanitary and epidemiological services in the country; to continue the educational training of epidemiologists and hygienists in universities; to ensure the organization of special training for all employees of medical institutions on modern methods of infection prevention, post-exposure prevention, as well as measures and means of infection control (introductory - during employment, periodic - once a year before the annual outbreak of infectious diseases, target - in case of sudden mass outbreaks of dangerous infections and their significant spread or after an occupational accident (infection)); to oblige to teach occupational safety disciplines in universities of medical profiles; at the state level to provide for the establishment of an appropriate system of occupational safety and health in the field of health care; to carry out obligatory assessment of working conditions and determination of the category of severity of work of medical workers; to provide all medical workers involved in the fight against infectious diseases with personal protective equipment at the required amount; to provide rational working and leisure conditions for medical workers in order to protect and preserve their health and ability to work; to ensure proper control over com-pliance with safety requirements when working with equipment that is a source of physically hazardous and harmful production factors; to carry out constant control over the amount of chemical and biological substances in the air of the working zone, air ionization, not allowing the maximum permissible concentrations to be exceeded.

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