Factors Associated with Work-Related COVID-19 Infection among Healthcare Workers in Selangor

Amuthameena Manoharan, Arishankery Manoharan, Norazizah Ibrahim Wong, Nor Azizi Abu Bakar, Nik Noor Syamimi Ismail, Mohd Azahadi Omar: Factors Associated with Work-Related COVID-19 Infection among Healthcare Workers in Selangor. published online at https://apcph.cphm.my, 2022, (Type: POSTER PRESENTATION; Organisation: Selangor State Health Department, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia, Sector for Biostatistics & Data Repository, Office of NIH Manager, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Setia Alam, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia).

Abstract

Introduction: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has afflicted almost the entire world. This global crisis has fostered fear among healthcare workers (HCWs) who are in close contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients at a higher risk for infection. This study thus aims to determine the factors associated with work-related COVID-19 infection among healthcare workers in the state of Selangor.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among the group of HCWs who were COVID-19 positive in the state of Selangor in Malaysia from March 2020 to March 2021. A positive case is determined based on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR assay. Data collection was carried out with each individual HCWs detected positive for the infection was immediately contacted, a comprehensive epidemiologic investigation was conducted and a detailed daily report was submitted to the state of Selangor Health Department by the Infection Prevention and Control Unit in all Ministry of Health facilities. A verbal consent was obtained from each healthcare worker during the process of epidemiological investigation. All healthcare workers from 12 public hospitals, one COVID-19 field hospital, 9 district health offices and all the public primary health clinics in Selangor were included in the study, regardless of their position and job description. The association was determined by multiple logistic regression at 95% confidence interval using SPSS version 26.0.
Results: The percentage of healthcare workers who were COVID-19 positive was higher among female (68.9%), aged 30-39 years (44.0 %) and Malay ethnicity (80.2%). It was also highest from hospital setting (82.3%), among nurses (38.6%), involved in management of COVID-19 patient (53.4%), with symptomatic (54.7%), category two of illness (50.7%) and don 't have an existing comorbidity (92.0%). The commonest cause of infection was work-related (51.6%) and close contact with confirmed COVID-19 community (46.9%). Multiple logistic regression analysis found that young healthcare workers were 2.2 times more likely associated with work-related COVID-19 infection (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.15, 4.32), while those involved in management of COVID-19 patient had four times higher risk of having COVID-19 infection (aOR: 4.16, 95% CI: 3.32, 5.22) and with no symptoms (aOR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.34, 2.09), adjusted for possible confounders. Discussion: The HCWs remain at a high risk as they are exposed to the infection and have a potential to further spread the illness to the nation 's most vulnerable and ill population. Measures thus need to be taken for preventing the future infection of healthcare workers and patients at health care facility and for reducing secondary SARS-CoV-2 transmission within health care settings. This study also provides a useful hint for health authorities in order to tailor infection control strategies.

BibTeX (Download)

@proceedings{APCPH2022-P-51b,
title = {Factors Associated with Work-Related COVID-19 Infection among Healthcare Workers in Selangor},
author = {Amuthameena Manoharan and Arishankery Manoharan and Norazizah Ibrahim Wong and Nor Azizi Abu Bakar and Nik Noor Syamimi Ismail and Mohd Azahadi Omar},
url = {#https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/APCPH2022-P-51.pdf#; https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/wpforms/1176-1e04940bb5d885bf8711ed19095a89ed/poster_APCPH_15072022_nurhasnah_Abstracts-ID_-51-ca02dffb12c2e188b9488311c1dc8b2d.pdf},
year  = {2022},
date = {2022-08-02},
urldate = {2022-08-02},
journal = {7th Asia-Pacific Conference on Public Health 2022 Proceedings},
issue = {7},
abstract = {Introduction: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has afflicted almost the entire world. This global crisis has fostered fear among healthcare workers (HCWs) who are in close contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients at a higher risk for infection. This study thus aims to determine the factors associated with work-related COVID-19 infection among healthcare workers in the state of Selangor. 
Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among the group of HCWs who were COVID-19 positive in the state of Selangor in Malaysia from March 2020 to March 2021. A positive case is determined based on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR assay. Data collection was carried out with each individual HCWs detected positive for the infection was immediately contacted, a comprehensive epidemiologic investigation was conducted and a detailed daily report was submitted to the state of Selangor Health Department by the Infection Prevention and Control Unit in all Ministry of Health facilities. A verbal consent was obtained from each healthcare worker during the process of epidemiological investigation. All healthcare workers from 12 public hospitals, one COVID-19 field hospital, 9 district health offices and all the public primary health clinics in Selangor were included in the study, regardless of their position and job description. The association was determined by multiple logistic regression at 95% confidence interval using SPSS version 26.0. 
Results: The percentage of healthcare workers who were COVID-19 positive was higher among female (68.9%), aged 30-39 years (44.0 %) and Malay ethnicity (80.2%). It was also highest from hospital setting (82.3%), among nurses (38.6%), involved in management of COVID-19 patient (53.4%), with symptomatic (54.7%), category two of illness (50.7%) and don 't have an existing comorbidity (92.0%). The commonest cause of infection was work-related (51.6%) and close contact with confirmed COVID-19 community (46.9%). Multiple logistic regression analysis found that young healthcare workers were 2.2 times more likely associated with work-related COVID-19 infection (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.15, 4.32), while those involved in management of COVID-19 patient had four times higher risk of having COVID-19 infection (aOR: 4.16, 95% CI: 3.32, 5.22) and with no symptoms (aOR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.34, 2.09), adjusted for possible confounders. Discussion: The HCWs remain at a high risk as they are exposed to the infection and have a potential to further spread the illness to the nation 's most vulnerable and ill population. Measures thus need to be taken for preventing the future infection of healthcare workers and patients at health care facility and for reducing secondary SARS-CoV-2 transmission within health care settings. This study also provides a useful hint for health authorities in order to tailor infection control strategies.},
howpublished = {published online at https://apcph.cphm.my},
note = {Type: POSTER PRESENTATION; Organisation: Selangor State Health Department, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia, Sector for Biostatistics \& Data Repository, Office of NIH Manager, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Setia Alam, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia},
keywords = {Covid-19, healthcare workers, Selangor},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}