Determining the risk level of covid-19 infection of medical workers

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Open Access Open Access
Restricted Access Access granted
Restricted Access Subscription Access

Abstract

Introduction. The primary task in assessing the probable risk of infection is to identify potential threats to the health and well-being of the population, determine the risks associated with the occupational activities of workers in various fields, including medical workers of various specialties, as well as analyze the effectiveness of measures already implemented to prevent them.

Materials and methods. An analysis of literature data in the Russian and English-language segments, own and dissertation research was carried out, significant factors in the spread of COVID-19 for medical workers of different specialties were identified.

Results. Based on the results of own research, the most significant risk factor in the spread of COVID-19 for medical workers was identified — failure to maintain a social distance of 1.5 meters (49.5%). An assessment was made of the level of probable risk of COVID-19 infection in the workplace for medical workers. The majority estimated the probable risk of infection at 1–2 points, which is moderate or low. Doctors — epidemiologists: about 48% of respondents spend more than 5 hours in the outbreak; 55.0% maintain a social distance of 1–1.5 meters; 65.0% of respondents visit 1–2 centers per day. General practitioners: 42.6% have contact with 5 or fewer patients; 29.5% maintain a social distance of 1–1.5 meters and 42.6% of respondents spend 5-10 minutes per patient.

Limitations. To implement this study, the required number of respondents was calculated using the method proposed by Viechtbauer W. et al. (2015). In this case, a 95% confidence interval and an expected response rate of 0.05 were set. According to the results obtained, at least ninety two people should take part in the study, which is a sufficient reference sample.

Conclusion. According to epidemiologists, the most significant factor in the spread of COVID-19 was failure to maintain a social distance of 1.5 meters and the failure to use masks when working with patients sick with the new coronavirus infection. According to general practitioners, the key factors in the spread of COVID-19 were the number of contacts with patients, the number of epicenters of infection visited, the length of the doctor’s stay at the site of the disease, as well as the distance during contact with the patient.

Compliance with ethical standards. All survey participants gave voluntary informed consent to participate in the study (approved by the local ethics committee, protocol No. 05-21 dated 03/10/2021).

Contribution:
Belova E.V. — concept and design of the study, writing the text;
Zabroda N.N. — approval of the final version of the article;
Istratov P.A. — responsible for the integrity of all parts of the article;
Sidorova E.A. — collection and processing of material, editing;
Simanovskiy A.A. — statistical data processing, editing;
Nesterov G.V. — editing, statistical data processing;
Lezinova A.I. — collection and processing of material;
Kraskevich D.A. — collection and processing of material, editing,
Severova L.P. — editing;
Zhernov Yu.V. — concept and design of the study;
Mitrokhin O.V. — approval of the final version of the article.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship.

Received: July 16, 2024 / Revised: October 22, 2024 / Accepted: October 23, 2024 / Published: November 19, 2024

About the authors

Elena V. Belova

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University)

Email: belova_e_v@staff.sechenov.ru

PhD (Medicine), Senior Lecturer of the Department of General Hygiene, F.F. Erisman Institute of Public Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

e-mail: belova_e_v@staff.sechenov.ru

Nadezhda N. Zabroda

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University)

Email: zabroda_n_n@staff.sechenov.ru

DSc (Medicine), Professor of the Department of General Hygiene, F.F. Erisman Institute of Public Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

e-mail: zabroda_n_n@staff.sechenov.ru

Petr A. Istratov

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University)

Email: istratow@mail.ru

Department of General Hygiene, F.F. Erisman Institute of Public Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

e-mail: istratow@mail.ru

Ekaterina A. Sidorova

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University)

Email: sidorova_e_a@staff.sechenov.ru

Senior Lecturer, Department of General Hygiene, F.F. Erisman Institute of Public Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119048

e-mail: sidorova_e_a@staff.sechenov.ru

Anton A. Simanovskiy

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University)

Email: simanovskiy_a_a@staff.sechenov.ru

Senior Lecturer, Department of General Hygiene, F.F. Erisman Institute of Public Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

e-mail: simanovskiy_a_a@staff.sechenov.ru

Georgii V. Nesterov

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University)

Email: nesterov_g_v_1@staff.sechenov.ru

Assistant of the Department of General Hygiene, Institute of Public Health named after F.F. Erisman, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

e-mail: nesterov_g_v_1@staff.sechenov.ru

Alina I. Lezinova

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University)

Email: lezinova_a_i_1@staff.sechenov.ru

Assistant of the Department of General Hygiene, Institute of Public Health named after F.F. Erisman, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119991

e-mail: lezinova_a_i_1@staff.sechenov.ru

Denis A. Kraskevich

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University); Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in Moscow

Email: kraskevich_d_a@staff.sechenov.ru

Assistant of the Department of General Hygiene, Institute of Public Health named after F.F. Erisman, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

e-mail: kraskevich_d_a@staff.sechenov.ru

Lyudmila P. Severova

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University)

Email: severova_l_p@staff.sechenov.ru

PhD (Medicine), Associate Professor of the Department of Phthisiopulmonology and Thoracic Surgery named after M.I. Perelman, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

e-mail: severova_l_p@staff.sechenov.ru

Yury V. Zhernov

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University); Moscow Medical University “Reaviz”; Fomin Clinic Michurinsky; A.N. Sysin Research Institute of Human Ecology and Environmental Hygiene, Centre for Strategic Planning of the Federal medical and biological agency

Email: zhernov_yu_v@staff.sechenov.ru

DSc (Medicine), Associate Professor in the specialty Hygiene, Director, A.N. Sysin Research Institute of Human Ecology and Environmental Hygiene, Centre for Strategic Planning of the Federal medical and biological agency, Moscow, 119121, Russian Federation; Professor of the Department of General Hygiene of the Institute of Public Health named after F.F. Erisman, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119435, Russian Federation; Moscow Medical University “Reaviz”, Moscow, 107564, Russian Federation; Fomin Clinic Michurinsky, Moscow, 119192, Russian Federation

e-mail: zhernov_yu_v@staff.sechenov.ru

Oleg V. Mitrokhin

First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov (Sechenov University)

Author for correspondence.
Email: mitrokhin_o_v@staff.sechenov.ru

DSc (Medicine), Professor, Head of the Department of General Hygiene of the F.F. Erisman Institute of Public Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119435, Russian Federation

e-mail: mitrokhin_o_v@staff.sechenov.ru

References

  1. López-Sánchez L., Miralles P., Salvador A., Merino-Sanjuán M., Merino V. In vitro skin penetration of bronidox, bronopol and formaldehyde from cosmetics. Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 2021; 122: 104888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2021.104888
  2. Zhai P., Ding Y., Wu X., Long J., Zhong Y., Li Y. The epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Int. J. Antimicrob. Agents. 2020; 55(5): 105955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105955
  3. Belyakova E.N. Epidemiological characteristics and scientific justification of the main directions of prevention of HPV-associated head and neck cancer: Diss. Moscow; 2022. (in Russian)
  4. Belyakova E.N. Clinical and epidemiological profile and risk factors causing hpv-associated head and neck cancer in Russia: results of a selected study. Analiz riska zdorov’yu. 2022; (1): 72–8. https://doi.org/10.21668/health.iisk/2022.1.07 https://elibrary.ru/iykynq (in Russian)
  5. Risk assessment and management of healthcare workers in the context of COVID-19. WHO; 2020. Available at: https://who.int/publications/i/item/risk-assessment-and-management-of-healthcare-workers-in-the-context-of-covid-19
  6. Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). WHO; 2020. Available at: https://who.int/publications/i/item/report-of-the-who-china-joint-mission-on-coronavirus-disease-2019-(covid-19)
  7. Isiutina-Fedotkova T.S., Kazieva D.Yu., Sukhov V.A., Mitrokhin O.V. Score estimate of COVID-19 risks as per socio-hygienic and behavioral indicators. Analiz riska zdorov’yu. 2021; (4): 16–24. https://doi.org/10.21668/health.risk/2021.4.02.eng https://elibrary.ru/hgbuxq
  8. Isiutina-Fedotkova T.S., Zhernov Y.V., Makarova V.V., Shcherbakov D.V., Zabroda N.N., Ermakova N.A., et al. Hygienic aspects of anti COVID-19 measures. Analiz riska zdorov’yu. 2023; (1): 160–72. https://doi.org/10.21668/health.risk/2023.1.16.eng https://elibrary.ru/bchffw
  9. Alraddadi B.M., Al-Salmi H.S., Jacobs-Slifka K., Slayton R.B., Estivariz C.F., Geller A.I., et al. Risk factors for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection among healthcare personnel. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2016; 22(11): 1915–20. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2211.160920
  10. Suwantarat N., Apisarnthanarak A. Risks to healthcare workers with emerging diseases: lessons from MERS-CoV, Ebola, SARS, and avian flu. Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. 2015; 28(4): 349–61. https://doi.org/10.1097/QCO.0000000000000183
  11. Keeley A.J., Evans C., Colton H., Ankcorn M., Cope A., State A., et al. Roll-out of SARS-CoV-2 testing for healthcare workers at a large NHS Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom, March 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020; 25(14): 2000433. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.14.2000433
  12. Madej M., Sebastian A., Morgiel E., Korman L., Szmyrka M., Sokolik R., et al. The assessment of the risk of COVID-19 infection and its course in the medical staff of a COVID-only and a non-COVID hospital. Adv. Clin. Exp Med. 2022; 31(9): 981–9. https://doi.org/10.17219/acem/149292
  13. Menting T., Krause K., Benz-Tettey F., Boehringer R., Laufer D., Gruber B., et al. Low-threshold SARS-CoV-2 testing facility for hospital staff: Prevention of COVID-19 outbreaks? Int. J. Hyg. Environ. Health. 2021; 231: 113653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113653
  14. Shpagina L.A., Kuzmina L.P., Kotova O.S., Shpagin I.S., Kamneva N.V., Kuznetsova G.V., et al. COVID-19 in healthcare workers (literature review and own data). Meditsina truda i promyshlennaya ekologiya. 2021; 61(1): 18–26. https://doi.org/10.31089/1026-9428-2021-61-1-18-26 https://elibrary.ru/didloj (in Russian)
  15. Dilek O.T. Occupational health and safety in public hospitals (on the example of Antalya). Meditsina. Sotsiologiya. Filosofiya. Prikladnye issledovaniya. 2019; (1): 32–7. https://elibrary.ru/yznxhf (in Russian)
  16. Wu Z., McGoogan J.M. Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: Summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA. 2020; 323(13): 1239–42. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.2648
  17. Colaneri M., Novelli V., Cutti S., Muzzi A., Resani G., Monti M.C., et al. The experience of the health care workers of a severely hit SARS-CoV-2 referral Hospital in Italy: incidence, clinical course and modifiable risk factors for COVID-19 infection. J. Public Health (Oxf). 2021; 43(1): 26–34. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdaa195
  18. Alghader M.R.M., Valvi D., de la Hoz R.E. Transmission and Risk Factors of COVID-19 among Health Care Workers. Semin. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 2023; 44(3): 340–8. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1766118
  19. Martin C.A., Pan D., Melbourne C., Teece L., Aujayeb A., Baggaley R.F., et al. Risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in a multiethnic cohort of United Kingdom healthcare workers (UK-REACH): A cross-sectional analysis. PLoS Med. 2022; 19(5): e1004015. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004015
  20. Belova E.V. Hygienic assessment of gloves when used as a measure of non-specific prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic: Diss. Moscow; 2023. (in Russian)
  21. Belova E.V. Assessment of the impact of gloves when used on transport workers in Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic. In: Modern Problems of Epidemiology, Microbiology and Hygiene: Materials of the XIV All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference of Young Scientists and Specialists of Rospotrebnadzor [Sovremennye problemy epidemiologii, mikrobiologii i gigieny: Materialy XIV Vserossiiskoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii molodykh uchenykh i spetsialistov Rospotrebnadzora]. Moscow; 2022. https://elibrary.ru/nfzbhn (in Russian)
  22. Gómez-Ochoa S.A., Franco O.H., Rojas L.Z., Raguindin P.F., Roa-Díaz Z.M., Wyssmann B.M., et al. COVID-19 in health-care workers: a living systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence, risk factors, clinical characteristics, and outcomes. Am. J. Epidemiol. 2021; 190(1): 161–75. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwaa191
  23. Buising K.L., Williamson D., Cowie B.C., MacLachlan J., Orr E., MacIsaac C., et al. A hospital-wide response to multiple outbreaks of COVID-19 in health care workers: lessons learned from the field. Med. J. Aust. 2021; 214(3): 101–4.e1. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.50850
  24. Tasmanian Government Department of Health. COVID-19 North West Regional Hospital Outbreak Interim Report. Hobart: State Government of Tasmania, Department of Health; 2020.
  25. Smirnova S.S., Egorov I.A., Zhuikov N.N., Vyatkina L.G., Kharitonov A.N., Semenov A.V., et al. Risks of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 for medical personnel in a large industrial city during the pandemic: comparative assessment. Analiz riska zdorov’yu. 2022; (2): 139–50. https://doi.org/10.21668/health.risk/2022.2.13.eng https://elibrary.ru/rpfhsd
  26. Malinina D.A. Comparative characteristics of infection biomarkers in patients in intensive care units: Diss. St. Petersburg; 2023. (in Russian)

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download

Copyright (c) 2025


СМИ зарегистрировано Федеральной службой по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций (Роскомнадзор).
Регистрационный номер и дата принятия решения о регистрации СМИ: серия ПИ № ФС 77 - 37884 от 02.10.2009.