Comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. In low- and middle- income countries, they may be particularly impacted by underfunded health systems, lack of personal protective equipment, challenging working conditions and barriers in accessing personal healthcare. METH...

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Autores principales: Kavenga, Fungai, Rickman, Hannah M., Chingono, Rudo, Taruvinga, Tinotenda, Marembo, Takudzwa, Manasa, Justen, Marambire, Edson, McHugh, Grace, Gregson, Celia L., Bandason, Tsitsi, Redzo, Nicol, Maunganidze, Aspect, Magure, Tsitsi, Ndhlovu, Chiratidzo, Mujuru, Hilda, Rusakaniko, Simbarashe, Manangazira, Portia, Ferrand, Rashida A., Kranzer, Katharina
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8610265/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34813627
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260261
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author Kavenga, Fungai
Rickman, Hannah M.
Chingono, Rudo
Taruvinga, Tinotenda
Marembo, Takudzwa
Manasa, Justen
Marambire, Edson
McHugh, Grace
Gregson, Celia L.
Bandason, Tsitsi
Redzo, Nicol
Maunganidze, Aspect
Magure, Tsitsi
Ndhlovu, Chiratidzo
Mujuru, Hilda
Rusakaniko, Simbarashe
Manangazira, Portia
Ferrand, Rashida A.
Kranzer, Katharina
author_facet Kavenga, Fungai
Rickman, Hannah M.
Chingono, Rudo
Taruvinga, Tinotenda
Marembo, Takudzwa
Manasa, Justen
Marambire, Edson
McHugh, Grace
Gregson, Celia L.
Bandason, Tsitsi
Redzo, Nicol
Maunganidze, Aspect
Magure, Tsitsi
Ndhlovu, Chiratidzo
Mujuru, Hilda
Rusakaniko, Simbarashe
Manangazira, Portia
Ferrand, Rashida A.
Kranzer, Katharina
author_sort Kavenga, Fungai
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. In low- and middle- income countries, they may be particularly impacted by underfunded health systems, lack of personal protective equipment, challenging working conditions and barriers in accessing personal healthcare. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, occupational health screening was implemented at the largest public sector medical centre in Harare, Zimbabwe, during the “first wave” of the country’s COVID-19 epidemic. Clients were voluntarily screened for symptoms of COVID-19, and if present, offered a SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection assay. In addition, measurement of height, weight, blood pressure and HbA1c, HIV and TB testing, and mental health screening using the Shona Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ-14) were offered. An interviewer-administered questionnaire ascertained client knowledge and experiences related to COVID-19. RESULTS: Between 27(th) July and 30(th) October 2020, 951 healthcare workers accessed the service; 210 (22%) were tested for SARS-CoV-2, of whom 12 (5.7%) tested positive. Clients reported high levels of concern about COVID-19 which declined with time, and faced barriers including lack of resources for infection prevention and control. There was a high prevalence of largely undiagnosed non-communicable disease: 61% were overweight or obese, 34% had a blood pressure of 140/90mmHg or above, 10% had an HbA1c diagnostic of diabetes, and 7% had an SSQ-14 score consistent with a common mental disorder. Overall 8% were HIV-positive, with 97% previously diagnosed and on treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Cases of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers mirrored the national epidemic curve. Implementation of comprehensive occupational health services during a pandemic was feasible, and uptake was high. Other comorbidities were highly prevalent, which may be risk factors for severe COVID-19 but are also important independent causes of morbidity and mortality. Healthcare workers are critical to combatting COVID-19; it is essential to support their physical and psychological wellbeing during the pandemic and beyond.
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spelling pubmed-86102652021-11-24 Comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic Kavenga, Fungai Rickman, Hannah M. Chingono, Rudo Taruvinga, Tinotenda Marembo, Takudzwa Manasa, Justen Marambire, Edson McHugh, Grace Gregson, Celia L. Bandason, Tsitsi Redzo, Nicol Maunganidze, Aspect Magure, Tsitsi Ndhlovu, Chiratidzo Mujuru, Hilda Rusakaniko, Simbarashe Manangazira, Portia Ferrand, Rashida A. Kranzer, Katharina PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. In low- and middle- income countries, they may be particularly impacted by underfunded health systems, lack of personal protective equipment, challenging working conditions and barriers in accessing personal healthcare. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, occupational health screening was implemented at the largest public sector medical centre in Harare, Zimbabwe, during the “first wave” of the country’s COVID-19 epidemic. Clients were voluntarily screened for symptoms of COVID-19, and if present, offered a SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection assay. In addition, measurement of height, weight, blood pressure and HbA1c, HIV and TB testing, and mental health screening using the Shona Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ-14) were offered. An interviewer-administered questionnaire ascertained client knowledge and experiences related to COVID-19. RESULTS: Between 27(th) July and 30(th) October 2020, 951 healthcare workers accessed the service; 210 (22%) were tested for SARS-CoV-2, of whom 12 (5.7%) tested positive. Clients reported high levels of concern about COVID-19 which declined with time, and faced barriers including lack of resources for infection prevention and control. There was a high prevalence of largely undiagnosed non-communicable disease: 61% were overweight or obese, 34% had a blood pressure of 140/90mmHg or above, 10% had an HbA1c diagnostic of diabetes, and 7% had an SSQ-14 score consistent with a common mental disorder. Overall 8% were HIV-positive, with 97% previously diagnosed and on treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Cases of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers mirrored the national epidemic curve. Implementation of comprehensive occupational health services during a pandemic was feasible, and uptake was high. Other comorbidities were highly prevalent, which may be risk factors for severe COVID-19 but are also important independent causes of morbidity and mortality. Healthcare workers are critical to combatting COVID-19; it is essential to support their physical and psychological wellbeing during the pandemic and beyond. Public Library of Science 2021-11-23 /pmc/articles/PMC8610265/ /pubmed/34813627 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260261 Text en © 2021 Kavenga et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Kavenga, Fungai
Rickman, Hannah M.
Chingono, Rudo
Taruvinga, Tinotenda
Marembo, Takudzwa
Manasa, Justen
Marambire, Edson
McHugh, Grace
Gregson, Celia L.
Bandason, Tsitsi
Redzo, Nicol
Maunganidze, Aspect
Magure, Tsitsi
Ndhlovu, Chiratidzo
Mujuru, Hilda
Rusakaniko, Simbarashe
Manangazira, Portia
Ferrand, Rashida A.
Kranzer, Katharina
Comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title Comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title_full Comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title_fullStr Comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title_short Comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in Zimbabwe during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title_sort comprehensive occupational health services for healthcare workers in zimbabwe during the sars-cov-2 pandemic
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8610265/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34813627
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260261
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