Factores asociados a complicaciones por COVID-19 en trabajadores hospitalarios: estudio de cohorte retrospectivo / Factors associated with complications from COVID-19 in hospital workers: A retrospective cohort study

Introduction SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare professionals represents a threat to the healthcare system. Objectives To identify factors associated with complications from COVID-19 in healthcare workers infected by SARS-CoV-2, in a specialized national hospital level III in Peru in 2020. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study. Health personnel who were working at Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal of Peru participated. The clinical and epidemiological characteristics and results of the Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test were collected from the medical records and epidemiological files. Simple and multiple regression models were used to estimate the risk factors of complications due to COVID-19. Results We found 1048 suspected cases, and 26.2% had a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of those infected, 20.8% had comorbidity, and 55% reported contact with COVID-19 patients in health care settings. Moreover, 27.4% of infected workers were administrative personnel, 24.1% were nursing technicians, 18.3% were nurses, and 13.1% were physicians. We also found that 24.1% presented complications from COVID-19, and three workers died. In a multiple regression, the risk factors for complications due to COVID-19 were the presence of comorbidity (risk ratio: 2.94; 95% confidence interval: 1.95 to 4.42), 30 years or older (1.28; 0.6 to 2.75), 60 years or older (2.04; 0.88 to 4.74), male sex (1.1; 0.71 to 1.7) and care work area (1.02; 0.06 to 2.62). Conclusions The findings in the present study show an association between the presence of comorbidities and an increased risk of presenting complications due to COVID-19 in healthcare workers, regardless of age, sex and area of work.

Introducción La infección por SARS-CoV-2 en profesionales sanitarios representa una amenaza para el sistema de salud. Objetivos Identificar factores asociados a complicaciones por COVID-19 en trabajadores sanitarios, infectados por SARS-CoV-2 y que pertenecen a un hospital nacional especializado de tercer nivel de Perú en el año 2020. Métodos Estudio de cohorte retrospectivo. Participaron trabajadores sanitarios infectados por SARS-CoV-2, que trabajaron en el Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal entre abril y diciembre de 2020. Se recogieron características clínicas y epidemiológicas, más resultados de la prueba de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa con transcriptasa inversa (PCR-TR) a partir de historias clínicas y fichas clínico epidemiológicas. Se utilizó regresión simple y múltiple para estimar los riesgos relativos de complicaciones por COVID-19. Resultados Se identificaron 1048 casos sospechosos, de ellos 26,2% tuvo infección confirmada de SARS-CoV-2. Del personal sanitario infectado, el 20,8% tuvo alguna comorbilidad, 55% manifestó atención a pacientes COVID-19, 27,4% fue personal administrativo, 24,1% técnico en enfermería, 18,3% licenciada de enfermería y 13,1% personal médico. El 24,1% presentó complicaciones por COVID-19 y tres trabajadores sanitarios fallecieron. En regresión múltiple, se obtuvo riesgos relativos para complicaciones por COVID-19 según presencia de comorbilidad (riesgo relativo: 2,94; intervalo de confianza 95%: 1,95 a 4,42), edad de 30 años a más ( 1,28; 95%: 0,6 a 2,75), 60 años a más ( 2,04; 95%: 0,88 a 4,74), sexo masculino ( 1,1; 95%: 0,71 a 1,7) y área laboral asistencial ( 1,02; 95%: 0,06 a 2,62). Conclusiones Los hallazgos sugieren que en trabajadores sanitarios infectados por SARS-CoV-2, la presencia de comorbilidades está asociada a complicaciones por COVID-19, independientemente de la edad, el sexo y del área laboral.

The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety disorders among workers in a hospital in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan

INTRODUCTION@#During the global COVID-19 pandemic, health workers were found to have a higher prevalence of anxiety disorder compared to non-health workers. Anxiety disorder that occurs chronically have a 25% chance to become a major depression disorder.@*OBJECTIVE@#The aim of this study is to understand the anxiety condition and related risk factors among workers in a Balikpapan hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.@*METHOD@#The design of this research used a cross sectional method that involved 279 respondents who are workers in a Balikpapan hospital. The study used SPSS version 20.0, using the chi square and Fisher’s Exact test for the bivariate analysis, and the logistic regression with enter method for the multivariate analysis.@*RESULTS@#The study shows that using the General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) questionnaire from 279 hospital workers, there were 10.8% with mild-, 1.45% with moderate-, and 0.4% with severe anxiety disorder. A significant relation was found between anxiety disorder and risk factors such as being a health worker with p=0.001 and a 4.8 OR adj (95% CI: 1.9-12.3), working in areas with high risk of transmitting COVID-19 with p=0.04 and a 5.1 OR adj (95% CI: 1.0-24.2), and workers who are being quarantined with p=0.001 a 10.5 OR adj (2.6-42.3) after being adjusted by age and gender variables.@*CONCLUSION@#Significant relations were found between anxiety disorder among hospital workers with risk factors such as being health workers, working in areas with high risk of transmitting COVID-19, and workers who are being quarantined. Researchers strongly advise health providers to do regular monitoring and seek moral support especially for workers who have higher risk of anxiety disorder.

Mobile phones of hospital workers: a potential reservoir for the transmission of pathogenic bacteria

Background: Mobile phones are increasingly associated with the transmission of pathogenic microbial agents. In the clinical setting where there is usually high exposure to pathogens, these devices may serve as vehicles for the transmission/spread of pathogens. This study determined the prevalence of bacterial contamination of mobile phones of health workers and the predisposing factors, in order to ascertain the risk of transmission of pathogenic bacteria through mobile phones. Methodology: This study was carried out in a private medical center at Mbouda, Cameroon, involving 78 health workers including health professionals (nurses, physicians, laboratory scientists) and hospital support workers (cleaners, cashiers and security guards), recruited by convenient sampling. Sterile swab sticks moistened with physiological saline were used to swab about three quarter of the surface of each phone. The swabs were cultured on MacConkey and Mannitol Salt agar plates which were incubated aerobically at 37oC for 24 hours, while Chocolate agar plate was incubated in a candle extinction jar for microaerophilic condition. The isolates were identified using standard biochemical tests including catalase, coagulase, and the analytical profile index (API) system. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Results: Mobile phones of 75 of the 78 (96.2%) health workers were contaminated, with highest contamination rates for the phones of laboratory scientists (100%, 12/12), followed by support staff (98.9%, 13/14), nurses (97.7%, 43/44) and physicians (87.3%, 7/8), but the difference in contamination rates was not statistically significant (p=0.349). A total of 112 bacteria belonging to 12 genera were isolated, with predominance of Staphylococcus aureus (31.3%, n=35), Micrococcus spp (30.4%, n=34), coagulase negative staphylococci (10.7%, n=12) and Pseudomonas spp (5.4%, n=6). The laboratory (18.8%, 21/112) and medical wards (16.1%, 18/112) had the highest bacterial contamination of mobile phones (p=0.041), and more bacterial species were isolated from smartphones (68.8%, n=77/112) than keypad phones (31.2%, n=35/112) (p=0.032). There was no significant difference between phone contamination rates and the practice of hand hygiene or decontamination of work surfaces (p>0.05). Conclusion: The presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria on cell phones of health-care workers emphasizes the role of fomites in the transmission of infectious diseases. Consequently, good hand hygiene and decontamination practices are encouraged among health workers in order to limit the spread of hospital-acquired infections.

Study of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Pain and Health-related Quality of Life among Hospital Workers

PURPOSE: This study examined the work-related musculoskeletal pain and quality of life of hospital workers.METHODS: Self-reported questionnaires were sent to 350 hospital workers at Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, of which 341 were returned. The questionnaire had four items that covered the demographic information, areas of musculoskeletal problems, pain rating scale, and quality of life. The analysis was completed using descriptive statistic, and the differences between pain and demographic variables were identified using a chi-square test. The differences between the type of occupation and quality of life were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and a Kruskal-Wallis test.RESULTS: The 12-month prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal pain was 86.1% of physical therapists, 86.5% of occupational therapists, 77.1% of dental hygienists, and 75.8% of nurses. A significant difference in the general and work related variables was observed between the subject with a physical burden and type of occupation. The most affected pain sites of the physical therapist included low back, hand and wrist, shoulder, and neck. The occupational therapists included the hand and wrist, shoulder, neck, but the nurses and dental hygienists reported the shoulder, back, hand and wrist. A significant difference in the quality of life was noted between the subjects in physical therapists and dental hygienists and the subjects in the nurses and occupational therapists (p=0.00).CONCLUSION: These findings show that hospital workers appear to be high risk for work-related musculoskeletal pain, and the quality of life of physical therapists and nurses was higher than that of dental hygienists and occupational therapists.

Motivación y liderazgo del personal del subsistema de servicios generales en dos hospitales maternos / Motivation and Leadership of General Services Subsystem Personnel in Two Maternal Hospitals

Introducción: el liderazgo, está estrechamente unida a la motivación y está demostrado que existe una relación directa entre el liderazgo que ejerce el jefe y la motivación de sus trabajadores. Objetivo: describir el estado de la motivación y el liderazgo en el personal de Servicios Generales de dos hospitales maternos de la provincia de Santiago de Cuba en octubre de 2013. Método: se realizó una investigación transversal con las Asistentes y los Jefes de Turnos de Servicios Generales en dos hospitales maternos: Tamara Bunke y Mariana Grajales de la provincia de Santiago de Cuba cuyo universo estuvo constituido por 112 asistentes y 6 jefes de turnos. La metodología utilizada estuvo dada por una observación dirigida a conocer el desempeño de sus funciones, se utilizó para ello una guía confeccionada por las autoras, una encuesta aplicada a los jefes de turnos, para conocer el nivel de conocimiento de sus funciones y se les aplicó además el test de liderazgo, mientras que el test de motivación se le aplicó a las asistentes; también se realizó una revisión documental de las Normas de procedimientos establecidas por el MINSAP. El dato primario se tabuló a través del Sistema procesador Excel. Resultados: las variables demográficas estudiadas mostraron el 95,8% de las féminas, el 44,9% entre 21 y 30 años de edad y con el 83,3% el nivel preuniversitario como el más frecuente. El 83,3% de los jefes de turnos no tienen actitud de líder y el 49,2% de las Asistentes Generales, tienen motivación por afiliación. Conclusiones: la motivación por afiliación es la más frecuente en las Asistentes Generales y conocen sus funciones, mientras que el liderazgo está ausente en la mayoría de los jefes de turnos.

Introduction: the leadership is closely linked to motivation and it is demonstrated that there is a direct relationship between the leadership of the boss and the motivation of the workers. Objective: to describe the state of motivation and leadership in the General Service staff two maternal hospitals in the province of Santiago de Cuba in October 2013. Methods: a descriptive investigation was conducted with the assistants and heads of General Services of two maternal hospitals in the province of Santiago de Cuba whose universe consisted of 112 employees and 6 heads of shifts. The methodology used was given by a remark addressed to meet the performance of their functions using a guide compiled by the authors, a survey of the heads of shifts, to determine the level of knowledge of their duties and applied to them. The test of leadership, while the motivation test was applied to the participants; a document revision of the rules of procedure established by the Ministry of Public Health also performed. The primary data was tabulated through Excel processor system. Results: the demographic variables studied showed 95.8% of females, 42.6% between 21 and 30 years of age and 83.3% in the most common pre-university level. 83.3% of heads of attitude shifts have no leader and 49.2% of General Assistants, are motivated by affiliation. Conclusions: the motivation for affiliation is the most common in the General Assistants and know their roles, while leadership is absent in most of the heads of shifts.

Prevalencia de trastornos músculo-esqueléticos en funcionarios de centros hospitalarios que realizan manejo de pacientes y caracterización de potenciales factores de riesgo / Prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases and potential risk factors among hospital personnel handling patients

El estudio tuvo como propósito identificar potenciales factores de riesgo de trastornos músculo-esqueléticos (TMEs) en procedimientos realizados por personal de seis cargos (n=78), que efectuaban manejo de pacientes en labores pre e intrahospitalarias. El diseño de la investigación es descriptivo transversal. Se determinó prevalencia de TMEs, condición física de los funcionarios, carga física, demandas biomecánicas y de organización del trabajo. La prevalencia de TMEs en los cargos estudiados se extendió entre 14,3 por ciento a 36,4 por ciento. La carga cardiovascular promedio de los grupos presentó un rango de 22,3 por ciento a 27,1 por ciento. Las fuerzas pick de compresión y corte, en las tareas de mayor demanda biomecánica, registraron rangos de 3,5 kN a 5,6 kNy de 0,35 kN a 0,81 kN, respectivamente. La presión por cantidad de trabajo fue el único aspecto de organización que presentó asociación estadística significativa con prevalencia de TMEs (r = 0,83). Los resultados del estudio confirman el carácter multifactorial de la generación de este tipo de trastornos. En las labores analizadas, los potenciales factores de riesgo de TMEs correspondieron a las demandas que derivan de variables biomecánicas, de organización del trabajo, equipamiento, infraestructura, así como también relacionadas con las características de las personas.

The purpose of the study was to identify potential risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in patient handling procedures carried out by personnel of six different positions (n=78) in both prehospital and intrahospital settings. A descriptive cross–sectional study was designed. Prevalence of MSDs, physical condition, physical workload, and biomechanical and work organization factors were determined. The prevalence of MSD ranged from 14.3 percent to 36.4 percent. The mean cardiovascular workload in the six groups was between 22.3 percent and 27.1 percent. In the tasks of greater biomechanical demand, percent peak compression and shear forces ranged between 3.5 kN to 5.6 kNand 0.35 kN to 0.81 kN, respectively. The perception of pressure at work was the only organizational aspect that showed significant statistical association with prevalence of MSD (r=0.83). Results confirm the multi-factor nature of the musculoskeletal diseases. In the activities analyzed, it was found that the potential MSD risk factors were related to biomechanical variables, organization at work, equipment, infrastructure and personal characteristics.

The Relationship Between Job Stress and Quality of Life for Hospital Workers by Type of Employment / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between job stress and quality of life for hospital workers by type of employment. METHODS: Data were obtained for 361 workers in a large hospital 172 of whom were categorized as typical workers defined by permanent employee and 189 of whom were categorized as atypical workers defined by fixed-term contraction. Job stress was assessed using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF Questionnaire RESULTS: Atypical workers had significantly higher scores for job-related stress in the domains of insufficient control, over work, job insecurity, and lack of reward in the workplace compared with typical workers, who had higher scores for stress in the domains of job demands and occupational climate. Test scores also indicated that typical workers had a significantly better quality of life than atypical workers, especially in terms of mental health, social relationships and environment. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that factors contributing to job-related stress were different between typical and atypical hospital and typical workers are likely to have a better quality of life.

The Experiences of Mental Health Hospital Workers / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of mental health hospital workers. METHODS: Participants in the study were a total of 8 mental health hospital workers who consisted of nurses, social welfare workers and health managers. To prevent them from being omitted, the interviews were all recorded under the participants prior agreement. The method was analysis using the phenomenological method proposed by Colaizzi(1978). RESULTS: The experiences of the participants of this study were classified into 15 significant areas, from which 10 subjects hard work, conflicts, heavy feeling, irritability, getting familiar, changes of recognition, aptitude determination, feeling of achievement and sense of pride were drawn out. These subjects were then grouped into 5 themes. These five themes were finally grouped into 5 categories, negative emotion, depressive emotion, changes of thinking, delight and value discovery. CONCLUSIONS: The study tried to analyze the experiences of key informants like nurses, social welfare workers and health managers all of whom were serving at mental health hospitals, contribute to social recognition about the special medical establishment, promote qualitative mental health nursing and further provide educational information necessary for understanding mental health hospital workers.

Risk of Tuberculosis Infection in Hospital Workers: A Discussion / 中华医院感染学杂志

OBJECTIVE To discuss the risk of tuberculosis infection in a general hospital workers.METHODS In a cross-sectional survey,we studied purified protein derivative(PPD) test in exposure group and control group.(RESULTS) The positive rate of PPD test in the hospital workers was 84.1%,significantly higher than that in(controls)(52.1%,P0.05).The positive PPD in workers of respiratory(department) was 2.95 times higher than in those of other departments.CONCLUSIONS The(environment) of(hospital) is special.Tuberculosis infection threatens the health of hospital workers.So we suggest that hospital workers(improve) self-protective consciousness and actively prevent tuberculosis infection,especially for(internes) and(physicians) with negative PPD.

Effect of Job Stress and Coping Strategy on Job Satisfaction in a Hospital Works / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of job stress, and the coping strategy of hospital workers on job satisfaction. METHODS: 468 self-administered questionnaires, were obtained from 120 doctors, 194 nurses, 45pharmacists and 109 administrators at a university hospital located in Seoul. The sociodemographic characteristics, personality types, degree of social support, job stresses, coping strategies, and job satisfaction were all assessed from the questionnaires. RESULTS: The analysis of job stress, according to occupation, showed that the most important job-related stress-inducing factors were: for doctors, role overload, and poor advancement opportunity; for nurses, role overload, and career development and wages; for pharmacists, role overload and lack of recognition from other health professionals; and for administrators, career development and wages, and organizational inefficiency. Job satisfaction had a significant positive correlation with control strategy, and a negative correlation with role ambiguity, career development and wages, personal relationship, role overload, and symptom management strategy. Job satisfaction was significantly influenced by control strategy, occupation, role ambiguity, person with an 'A' type personality and gender, from a multiple regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggested that to increase the job satisfaction for hospital workers, they need to be encouraged to use control strategies; create a supportive hospital atmospheres for social supports; re-evaluation, structuring and a new job design are all required to reduce role ambiguity.

Chromosome Aberrations and Sister Chromatid Exchanges of Hospital Workers Exposed to Radiation / 예방의학회지

In order to evaluate the cytogenetic hazard among hospital workers potentially exposed to low dose of radiation, the analysis of chromosome aberrations(CA) and sister chromatid exchanges(SCE) in lymphocytes were performed in 79 hospital workers and 79 non-exposed workers. The mean frequency of chromosomal exchange and deletion(respectively, 0.20X10-2/cell and 0.39X10(-2)/cell) in the exposed group were significantly higher than those(0.07X10(-2)/cell and 0.23X10-2/cell) in control group. The frequency of sister chromatid exchanges was 5.04/cell in the control vs. 6.57/cell in the exposed group. There were also significant differences in the mean frequencies of CA and SCE adjusted for age, sex, smoking, drinking between two groups. There were no evidence of significant increase of CA and SCE according to the department or duration of employment. But the frequency of cells having chromosome aberration was significantly higher in the exposed group than in the control group related to duration of employment. There was no dose-effect relationship between the cumulative doses and the frequency of CA and SCE. But in the case of last 1 yr cumulative dose, there were evidence of significant dose-dependant increase of chromosome type CA and percentage of cells with aberration. The result suggest that there is cytogenetic hazard in risk group like hospital workers handling low dose radiation. And the analysis CA and SCE are useful biological indicators for the exposure of low dose level of radiation.

Factors Affecting on Hospital Workers' Stress Symptom / 대한산업의학회지

Nowadays, stress is one of the most important factors that affect workers' chronic diseases. In the case of China, medical demands increased under the national health service system after the market economy was introduced. These socioeconomic changes have affected the hospital workers' stress in China. We surveyed 428 hospital workers in Jilin Province in China from March 18 to March 29, 1996. The results were as follows ; 1. There were more women(67.8%) than men(31.1%) and those who graduated from technical school were 54.2%. The workers whose monthly income ranged from 400 to 499 Yuen were 37.9% by Chinese currency. For occupational characteristics, there were 36.4% doctors and 30.1% were nurses among the hospital workers. 29.9% had worked for 10~20 years in the hospital and 80.1% said their workload was moderate. 25.9% were satisfied with their jobs and 33.2% had good relationships with superiors and 37.4% had good relationships with co-workers. 2. For health habits, 22.7% were current smokers and 51.2% were scarcely drank. among this subjects. Those who ate breakfast almost everyday were 87.1% and the workers who ate between meals almost everyday were 50.2%. 83.8% slept for 7~8 hours at night. Only 14.0% of the workers exercised regularly were only 14.0% and 18.5% were obese. 3. Hospital workers' stress symptom was significantly related to age and monthly income. The workers who were 19 years old or less or 40 years old or more and had higher monthly income showed higher stress symptoms than those who were between 20-39 and had lower monthly income. Higher stress symptom was also significantly related to the heavy workload, the dissatisfaction with their job an4 the bad relationship with their superiors and co-workers. 4. Higher stress symptoms were significantly related to drinking and hours of sleep among the seven health habits. The more frequently the workers' drank, the higher the stress symptoms were and the workers who slept for 7~8 hours at night had lower stress symptoms than those who slept for 6 hours or less or 9 hours or more. 5. According to the results of stepwise multiple regression analysis, the factors affecting hospital workers' stress symptoms were monthly income in personal characteristics (R2=0.0227), job satisfaction and workload (R2=0.0742) in occupational characteristics, and drinking and hours of sleep (R2=0.0446) among the seven health habits. Consequently, the most significant factors that had affected hospital workers' stress symptom in China, were job satisfaction and drinking according to the premises of the questionnaire.