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

Abstract

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.

A Proactive Approach to Identify the Exposure Risk to COVID-19: Validation of the Pandemic Risk Exposure Measurement (PREM) Model Using Real-World Data

“…There have been many pandemic studies, including COVID-19 risk assessment studies, which suggested different prediction and mitigation models. [2][3][4][5] However, all these models are comparable to extinguishing a fire, which, of course, must be done immediately in order to survive. In this paper, we explore a Pandemic Risk Exposure Measurement (PREM) model 1 that identifies factors that influence a country's perceived vulnerability to pandemic risk exposure such as COVID-19.…”

“…Using real data, the relationship of the variable "General Country Data" (Factor 1) with NLCC and NLCD is statistically significant, while "Social Data" (Factor 3) is statistically significantly associated only with NLCD. The main advantage of PREM over other proposed risk assessment models for COVID-192 5,23,54,55 is that it allows for a proactive approach, which aims at risk management by identifying countries' vulnerability to the pandemic.…”

Factors affecting the choice of a future medical specialty of the junior doctors in a third world country

“…Eighty percent of our study participants had performed duties in Covid-19 wards during their house job. A majority of the participants (56.2%) reported that they had suffered from the disease during their hospital duties which underlines the risk faced by the frontline health workers during this pandemic and it has been corroborated by many international studies [28,29]. Despite the profound effects of Covid-19 on the delivery of global health-care services, only 11.4% of the junior doctors in our study agreed that the pandemic had an effect on their choice of a future specialty.…”

PEPFAR’s Role in Protecting and Leveraging HIV Services in the COVID-19 Response in Africa

“…Shortages of PPE including medical masks and respirators were an additional challenge, exacerbated by regulatory prohibitions that precluded the use of US Government funds for their procurement. These restrictions were subsequently removed; however, inadequate supply along with inappropriate use of PPE may have contributed to the observed high case rates of COVID-19 among PEPFAR-supported health care workers [ 26 , 27 ]. In response to the observed need, funds through the American Rescue Plan Act were directed to support a full spectrum of IPC activities at PEPFAR sites, focusing on environmental and administrative controls and essential hygiene infrastructure [ 28 ].…”