Abstract
Background:COVID-19 causes a critical occupational risk tofrontlinehealthcare workers (HCWs) who respond to the pandemic,asthey areplacedin environments withan increased risk of infection exposure.It is apublic health priority to understand how transmissionoccurstoprotect this vulnerable group of HCWs. This study wasconductedto estimate the incidence of self-reported COVID-19 infection among physicians and its possible associated factors. Methods:An onlinenationalsurveyusingSurvey Monkeywas initiatedtocollect sociodemographice.g.age and sex, occupationale.g.place and duration of work,andclinical datae.g.COVID symptoms and laboratoryinvestigations,andtodescribe affected physicians' diagnoses.Results:The self-reported incidence of COVID-19 infection was found to be 65.4% among studied physicians. The significant independent predictors of COVID-19 infectionwere smoking,working as afrontlinephysician, having contact with a COVID-19case, andworking for less than ten years [ARR (95% CI): 3.0(1.6-5.7), 2.3(1.4-3.8), 2.1(1.2-3.6), and 1.8(1.2-2.9); respectively]. Conclusions:The incidence of COVID-19 infection among Egyptian physicians is relatively high.Smoking, being a frontline physician, having contact with a COVID-19 case, and working for less than 10 years are all factors associated with an increased risk of infection.There should be strict application of preventive measures, periodic screening for COVID-19 for early detection and isolation of infected HCWs together with effective vaccination.
Highlights
COVID-19, has become a universal threat to public health[1]
The present study showed that being a frontline physician was found to be a predictor of COVID-19 infection [Adjusted risk ratios (ARR): 2.3(1.4-3.8)]
Smoking, being a frontline physician, having contact with a COVID-19 case, and working for less than 10 years are all factors associated with an increased risk of infection
Summary
COVID-19, has become a universal threat to public health[1]. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers have exhibited tremendous strength and professional loyalty despite the risk of infection and spreading the infection to others[2].During the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, overstrained healthcare systems in severely affected countries left healthcare workers fighting with prolonged work hours, intense emotional stress, and fatigue. Healthcare workers frequently had to care for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections with insufficient PPE or improper training. These conditions contributed to a heightened risk to healthcare workforces of contracting the infection throughout the pandemic’s early stage[4,5,6]. It is a public health priority to understand how transmission occurs to protect this vulnerable group of HCWs. This study was conducted to estimate the incidence of self-reported COVID-19 infection among physicians and its possible associated factors. Smoking, being a frontline physician, having contact with a COVID-19 case, and working for less than 10 years are all factors associated with an increased risk of infection. There should be strict application of preventive measures, periodic screening for COVID-19 for early detection and isolation of infected HCWs together with effective vaccination
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