Safety and Health at Work

Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (산업안전보건연구원)
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COVID-19 Risk Factors Among Health Workers: A Rapid Review

  • Mhango, Malizgani (School of Public Health, University of Western Cape) ;
  • Dzobo, Mathias (Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Zimbabwe) ;
  • Chitungo, Itai (Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Zimbabwe) ;
  • Dzinamarira, Tafadzwa (Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal)
  • Received : 2020.05.04
  • Accepted : 2020.06.01
  • Published : 2020.09.30
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Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) poses an important occupational health risk to health workers (HWs) that has attracted global scrutiny. To date, several thousand HWs globally have been reported as infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus that causes the disease. It is therefore a public health priority for policymakers to understand risk factors for this vulnerable group to avert occupational transmission. A rapid review was carried out on 20 April 2020 on Covid-19 risk factors among HWs in PubMed, Google Scholar, and EBSCOHost Web (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE with Full Text, CINAHL with Full Text, APA PsycInfo, Health Source-Consumer Edition, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition) and WHO Global Database. We also searched for preprints on the medRxiv database. We searched for reports, reviews, and primary observational studies (case control, case cross-over, cross-sectional, and cohort). The review included studies conducted among HWs with Covid-19 that reported risk factors irrespective of their sample size. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Lack of personal protective equipment, exposure to infected patients, work overload, poor infection control, and preexisting medical conditions were identified as risk factors for Covid-19 among HWs. In the context of Covid-19, HWs face an unprecedented occupational risk of morbidity and mortality. There is need for rapid development of sustainable measures that protect HWs from the pandemic.

Keywords

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