Socioeconomic and Behavioral Correlates of COVID-19 Infections among Hospital Workers in the Greater Jakarta Area, Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Olivia Herlinda,Adrianna Bella,Gita Kusnadi,Mochamad Thoriq Akbar,Putri Aprilia Regita,Dian Kusuma

doi:10.3390/ijerph18105048

Abstract

(1) Background: because of close contacts with COVID-19 patients, hospital workers are among the highest risk groups for infection. This study examined the socioeconomic and behavioral correlates of COVID-19 infection among hospital workers in Indonesia, the country hardest-hit by the disease in the Southeast Asia region. (2) Methods: we conducted a cross-sectional study, which collected data from 1397 hospital staff from eight hospitals in the Greater Jakarta area during April–July 2020. The data was collected using an online self-administered questionnaire and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests. We employed descriptive statistics and adjusted and unadjusted logistic regressions to analyze the data of hospital workers as well as the subgroups of healthcare and non-healthcare workers. (3) Results: from a total of 1397 hospital staff in the study, 22 (1.6%) were infected. In terms of correlates, being a healthcare worker (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 8.31, 95% CI 1.27–54.54) and having a household size of more than five (AOR = 4.09, 1.02–16.43) were significantly associated with a higher risk of infection. On the other hand, those with middle- and upper-expenditure levels were shown to have a lower risk of infection (AOR = 0.06, 0.01–0.66). Behavioral factors associated with COVID-19 infection among healthcare and non-healthcare workers included knowledge of standard personal protective equipment (PPE) (AOR = 0.08, 0.01–0.54) and application of the six-step handwashing technique (AOR = 0.32, 0.12–0.83). (4) Conclusion: among hospital staff, correlates of COVID-19 infection included being a healthcare worker, household size, expenditure level, knowledge and use of PPE, and application of appropriate hand washing techniques.

Highlights

Since being officially declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected over 128.5 million people and has caused more than 2.8 million deaths in 206 countries worldwide by 31 March2021 [1]
Our findings show that larger household sizes and middle to upper expenditure levels were significantly associated with higher risks of COVID-19 infection among hospital workers
We found that healthcare workers were at significantly higher risks of contracting COVID-19 compared to non-healthcare workers at hospitals

Summary

Introduction

Since being officially declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected over 128.5 million people and has caused more than 2.8 million deaths in 206 countries worldwide by 31 March2021 [1]. Since being officially declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected over 128.5 million people and has caused more than 2.8 million deaths in 206 countries worldwide by 31 March. With the burden of the currently existing public health issue, the consequences of this pandemic have been well predicted to be suffered the most by the developing countries compared to their developed counterparts [2]. Despite the implementation of activity restrictions as well as individual and communal protective behaviors at the national and regional levels [3,4], Indonesia has become the country worst-hit by COVID-19 by having the highest number of cases in the South East Asia region in addition to being among the highest mortality rates in the world [5].

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion