SARS-CoV-2 infection among primary healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are critical to the healthcare system and are at an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.1 They may acquire infections from the community and their work settings. To date, the majority of the studies reporting on the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infections in HCWs, including serology testing, are from hospital settings.2 Primary care provides a platform and plays a critical role in prevention, testing, triaging and treating patients, but a smaller number of studies focus on primary care settings.3 In a recent systematic review, primary care physicians were at increased risk of worse outcomes and were the highest risk specialty for deaths among doctors.2 This short report provides an objective assessment of infection risk among frontline primary care HCWs utilizing RT-PCR results and serology testing. The study aims to establish the point and the period prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs and their characteristics, exposure risks and infection control practices for SARS-CoV-2 in primary care settings. Overview A cross-sectional study design was employed for the study. The study settings were Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) – the largest primary health care provider in Qatar. It has 27 health centers across the country with approximately 1.4 million registered individuals. The study was conducted in July 2020 during the first SARS-CoV-2 pandemic wave with approximately 163 new cases daily per million population. Five health centers were randomly selected for the study – Rawdat Al Khail, Gharrafat Al Rayyan, Al Wajbah, Qatar University and Al Wakrah. Suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 individuals presented in all health centers at the time. All frontline physicians and nurses working in the five selected health centers were invited to participate in the study. Overall, 291 of the 720 invited participants consented to participate. HCWs were booked an appointment where they completed a self-administered questionnaire on sociodemographic, RT-PCR test results, SARS-CoV-2 exposure risk and provided a blood sample to test for antibodies (IgM and IgG) against SARS-CoV-2.