ABSTRACT
Background: The gravity point of all management systems in the new approach of global worldwide standards includes management and assessment of risks and opportunities. Although the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic has threatened the health of the workforce and caused catastrophic human and economic consequences, the occurrence of this global challenge has also created opportunities to pay more attention to the risk assessment of biological harmful agents in the workplace. Therefore, this study was designed and implemented to analyze the risk of COVID-19 based on fuzzy logic. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 5 hospitals and health-treatment centers in Qom City, Iran (2019). The study sample included 247 employees of these medical centers. The risk assessment of COVID-19 is based on the rapid COVID-19 hazard analysis (RCHA) technique in which the risk level is calculated based on the three components of disease probability, consequence severity, and health belief level. Also, the data were analyzed using fuzzy logic. Results: The results of the fuzzy analysis of COVID-19 risk in these medical centers showed that the studied subjects were placed in five risk levels, including 10.5, 16.25, 26.75, 38.5, and 56.0. These results revealed that the group of nurses is at the highest risk of COVID-19 compared to the other seven groups working in medical centers. The definite risk of COVID-19 among people in this group was calculated at four levels equal to 16.25, 26.75, 38.5, and 56.0. Conclusion: The results of fuzzy analysis of COVID-19 risk indicated that the three groups of nurses, patient carriers, and ward services have the highest risk, respectively. Therefore, these groups should be prioritized in providing suitable solutions to prevent this disease. © 2022, Negah Institute for Scientific Communication. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Background and Aim: One of the most important measures in the field of occupational health management in work environments is to evaluate the risk of diseases with the aim of providing preventive and reducing solutions to the risk of diseases and disorders in the workplace. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the risk of COVID-19 in high-risk occupational environments using the rapid risk analysis technique. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2020 in three high risk workplaces including 5 banks, 4 post centers and 2 hospitals in the city of Hamadan, Iran. The tools used in this study included a rapid risk analysis technique. In this semi quantitative technique, the risk level is calculated based on three components: disease probability, severity (consequence), and level of health belief. Results: The findings showed that the risk level of COVID-19 is high for all studied subjects. The lowest and highest risk of COVID-19 in bank employees was estimated at 200 and 300, respectively. The lowest and highest risk of covid-19 in the hospital wards were 50 and 100, respectively. In addition, the low and high risk of covid-19 in the four postal centers were evaluated 50 and 150, respectively (unacceptable risk40). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the rapid risk analysis technique for COVID-19 can be considered as a suitable technique for screening in the workplace. Due to the high risk of infection in the study workplaces, it is recommended to provide appropriate protection and health measures to prevent the disease in these workplaces. © 2020 Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.