What influences the close contact between health care workers and patients? An observational study in a hospital dental outpatient department

Abstract

Dental outpatient departments, characterized by close proximity and unmasked patients, present a considerable risk of respiratory infections for health care workers (HCWs). However, the lack of comprehensive data on close contact (<1.5m) between HCWs and patients poses a significant obstacle to the development of targeted control strategies. An observation study was conducted at a hospital in Shenzhen, China, utilizing depth cameras with machine learning to capture close-contact behaviors of patients with HCWs. Additionally, questionnaires were administered to collect patient demographics. The study included 200 patients, 10 dental practitioners, and 10 nurses. Patients had significantly higher close-contact rates with dental practitioners (97.5%) compared with nurses (72.8%,P<.001). The reason for the visit significantly influenced patient-practitioner (P=.018) and patient-nurse (P=.007) close-contact time, with the highest values observed in prosthodontics and orthodontics patients. Furthermore, patient age also significantly impacted the close-contact rate with nurses (P=.024), with the highest rate observed in patients below 14 years old at 85% [interquartile range:70-93]. Dental outpatient departments exhibit high HCW-patient close-contact rates, influenced by visit purpose and patient age. Enhanced infection control measures are warranted, particularly for prosthodontics and orthodontics patients or those below 14 years old.