Impact of a binary triage system and structural reorganization of emergency department on health care workers exposed to suspected COVID-19 patients—a single-centre analysis

Abstract Background A binary triage system based on infectivity and facilitated by departmental restructuring was developed to manage suspected COVID-19 patients with an aim to provide effective prevention and control of infection among health care workers (HCWs) in the emergency department. This study analyses the effectiveness of the new triage system and structural reorganization in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the Emergency and Trauma Department, Hospital Kuala Lumpur (ETDHKL). The implementation of a binary triage system separates patients with risk of COVID-19 who present with fever and respiratory symptoms from other patients. Data on exposed HCWs to COVID-19 patients were captured pre-restructuring and post-restructuring of the emergency department and analysed using descriptive statistics. Results A total of 846 HCWs were involved in this study. Pre-restructuring reported 542 HCWs exposed to COVID-19 patients while post-restructuring reported 122. Using the four categorical exposure risks for HCWs which are no identifiable risk, low risk, medium risk, and high risk, the number of HCWs exposed during pre-restructuring were 15(1.8%), 504 (59.6%), 15 (1.8%), and 8 (0.9%), respectively, while post-restructuring the numbers were 122 (14.4%), 8 (0.9%), 109 (12.9%), and 5 (0.1%), respectively. There was a 77.5% reduction in the number of exposed HCWs after our implementation of the new system (542 vs 122). Conclusion A binary triage system based on severity and infectivity and supported with structural reorganization can be effective in reducing HCWs COVID-19 exposure.

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Illness profile of the patients and risk factors for violence against health care workers working in emergency department

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20202015 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 1968

Author(s):

Dharmendra Kumar Gupta ◽

Rajendra Pal Singh ◽

Ajay Kumar Agarwal ◽

Shailja Bisht

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Emergency Department ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Group Discussion ◽

Common Factor ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Care Hospital ◽

Age Group ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers

Background: Emergency services are the back bone of the every hospital, providing 24×7 health care services. Health care workers (HCWs) working in emergency department are always at a greater risk of violence. Factors leading to violence against HCWs need to be addressed to curb these incidents. Aim and objective: To study illness profile of admitted patients through emergency, find out factors leading to violence against health care workers (HCWs) working in emergency, and to recommend development of optimum skills and measures for minimizing violence.Methods: It was a cross-sectional retrospective record and focus group discussion based study. Study included patient of all age group admitted through emergency department in a tertiary care hospital in Uttar Pradesh between 01 August 2019 to 31October 2019. Data was taken from the hospital record and focal group discussion held with casualty medical officers, consultants, senior residents, junior residents, PG students, intern nursing staff and quality department. The information collected was analysed using SPSS version 20.0.Results: Out of 7094 participants, 50.4% were female. Majority of the participants (33%) were 17-32 years of the age group. Most common factor responsible for the violence was poor communication skills followed by harsh voice, poor behavior and death of the patient.Conclusions: Large number of the HCWs working in the emergency department are victims of violence by patients and their relatives. Most of the cases are underreported. There is a need to train doctors in soft skills and handling sensitive situations through appropriate measures for the safety of staff.

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Assessment of exposure risks to COVID-19 among frontline health care workers in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional survey

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0251000 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0251000

Author(s):

Seyfe Asrade Atnafie ◽

Demssie Ayalew Anteneh ◽

Dawit Kumilachew Yimenu ◽

Zemene Demelash Kifle

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Control Measures ◽

P Value ◽

Amhara Region ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Care Workers ◽

Exposure Risks

Background The burden to fight with Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has lied to frontline health care workers that are putting themselves at a higher risk in the battle against the disease. This study aimed to assess the exposure health risks of COVID-19 among frontline healthcare workers in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. Method A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted on public health workers from May to August 2020. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire via email and telegram services. Both descriptive statistics and bivariate followed by multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify distribution patterns and factors associated with exposure risks to COVID-19. Odds ratio with 95% Confidence Interval (CI), and a P-value of <0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Result A total of 418 health care workers participated in the study with a response rate of 99.1%. The majority of the study participants 310(74.2%), were males, and 163(39%) were nurses/ midwives respectively. More than half of the respondents 237(56.7%), had reported that they didn`t have face-to-face contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient. Among the respondents, 173(41.4%), 147(35.2%), 63(15.1%), and 65(15.6%) of the health professionals had always used gloves, medical masks, face shield, or goggles/protective glasses, and disposable gown, respectively. In this study, age between 25–34 years (AOR = 0.20), age between 35–44 years (AOR = 0.13), family size of >6 (AOR = 3.77), work experience of 21–30 years (AOR = 0.01), and good handwashing habit (AOR = 0.44) were the protective factors against COVID-19. On the other hand, perception of non-exposure to COVD 19 (AOR = 9.56), and poor habit of decontamination of high touch areas (AOR = 2.52) were the risk factors associated with confirmed COVID 19 cases among health care workers. Conclusion Poor adherence to personal protective equipment use and aseptic practices during and after health care interactions with patients were identified. Strategies should be implemented to institute effective and sustainable infection control measures that protect the health care workers from COVID-19 infection.

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Association between SARS-CoV-2 and exposure risks in health care workers and university employees – a cross-sectional study

Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1080/23744235.2021.1892819 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 53 (6) ◽

pp. 460-468

Author(s):

David Nygren ◽

Jonas Norén ◽

Yang De Marinis ◽

Anna Holmberg ◽

Carl-Johan Fraenkel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

University Employees ◽

Care Workers ◽

Exposure Risks

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COVID-19 Psychological Impact on Health Care Workers in Saudi Arabia

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18116076 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 6076

Author(s):

Hasan S. Alamri ◽

Wesam F. Mousa ◽

Abdullah Algarni ◽

Shehata F. Megahid ◽

Ali Al Bshabshe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Psychological Outcomes ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers ◽

The Impact

Objective: Little is known about the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) among the health care workers in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 among the health care workers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May till mid-July among 389 health care workers from government and private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using a pre-structured online questionnaire that measured adverse psychological outcomes, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale. The Pearson chi-square test was used to assess the distribution of depression and anxiety among health care workers. Results: A high level of anxiety was recorded among the health care workers, and 69.3% of health care workers below the age of 40 were found to have depression. There was a significant increase in depression among staff with chronic health problems (72.1% vs. 61.9%; p = 0.048). High anxiety levels were detected among young staff compared to others (68.7% vs. 43.8%; p = 0.001). Moreover, 82.1% of the female staff were anxious, as compared to 55.6% of the males (p = 0.001). Conclusions: We found increased prevalence of adverse psychological outcomes among the health care workers in Saudi Arabia during the outbreak of COVID-19. Therefore, there is a need for proper screening and development of corresponding preventive measures to decrease the adverse psychological outcomes.

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Epidemiology of needlestick injuries among health-care workers in Awassa City, Southern Ethiopia

Tropical Doctor ◽

10.1258/td.2009.090191 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 111-113 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Moges Tadesse ◽

Takele Tadesse

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Needlestick Injury ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Southern Ethiopia ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Needlestick Injuries ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers

Accidental needlestick injuries sustained by health-care workers are a common occupational hazard and a public health issue in health-care settings. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted and 30.9% of health-care workers had experienced at least one needlestick injury in the previous year.

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