Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Med J Malaysia. 2023 Mar;78(2):213-217.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reached a phase where many have been infected at least once. Healthcare workers were not spared from being infected. This study aimed to determine the period prevalence of COVID-19 among the paediatric healthcare workers in Negeri Sembilan as the country transitioned into an endemic phase of the pandemic. Additionally, we investigate potential sociodemographic and occupational characteristics associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among the healthcare workers in the paediatric department at three public specialist hospitals in Negeri Sembilan between 15 and 21 April 2022. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire.
Out of the 504 eligible healthcare workers, 493 participated in this study (response rate 97.8%). The overall prevalence of COVID-19 (11 March 2020-15 April 2022) among healthcare workers was 50.9%. The majority (80.1%) were infected during the Omicron wave two months before the survey. Household contacts accounted for 35.9% of infection sources. The proportion of non-doctors in the COVID-19-infected group was significantly higher compared to the non-infected group (74.1% vs 64.0%, p=0.016). The COVID-19-infected group had a higher proportion of schoolgoing children (44.6% vs 30.6%, p=0.001) and children who attended pre-school/sent to the babysitter (49.0% vs 24.4%, p<0.001). There were no significant differences between infection rates among the healthcare workers working in the tertiary hospital and the district hospitals. There were also no significant differences in the proportion of COVID-19- infected doctors and nurses when analysed by seniority.
Our study provided an estimate on the prevalence of COVID-19 among paediatric healthcare workers in Negeri Sembilan and the factors associated with infection, which captures the extent and magnitude of this pandemic on the state's paediatric department. Most infections resulted from household contact, with a higher proportion of infected healthcare workers having young children.
COVID-19 大流行已进入许多人至少感染一次的阶段。医护人员也未能幸免于感染。本研究旨在确定森美兰州儿科医护人员在 COVID-19 大流行进入地方病阶段时的 COVID-19 期间患病率。此外，我们还调查了与医护人员 SARS-CoV-2 感染相关的潜在社会人口学和职业特征。
在 2022 年 4 月 15 日至 21 日期间，对森美兰州三家公立专科医院儿科部门的医护人员进行了横断面研究。通过自填式问卷收集数据。
在 504 名符合条件的医护人员中，有 493 名参加了这项研究（应答率 97.8%）。医护人员 COVID-19（2020 年 3 月 11 日至 2022 年 4 月 15 日）的总体患病率为 50.9%。大多数（80.1%）人在调查前两个月的奥密克戎波期间感染。家庭接触占感染源的 35.9%。与未感染组相比，感染组中非医生的比例明显更高（74.1%比 64.0%，p=0.016）。感染组中上学儿童的比例较高（44.6%比 30.6%，p=0.001），上幼儿园/送保姆的儿童比例较高（49.0%比 24.4%，p<0.001）。在 tertiary 医院和地区医院工作的医护人员的感染率之间没有显著差异。按资历分析时，感染 COVID-19 的医生和护士的比例也没有显著差异。
本研究提供了森美兰州儿科医护人员 COVID-19 患病率及感染相关因素的估计，反映了该州儿科部门大流行的程度和规模。大多数感染是由家庭接触引起的，感染医护人员中有更高比例的儿童。
