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Open Access Work Environment of Healthcare Workers with (COVID)-19 in a Hospital in Turkey

This article is Open Access under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND licence.

Objectives: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are among the occupational groups most affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The present study aims to conduct a retrospective investigation of the outpatient occupational disease clinic records of COVID-19 survivor HCWs and the distribution of the study participants within a specific hospital to identify the work units at risk and recommend control measures. Methods: This study investigated HCWs aged 18-65 years who had returned to their work in the hospital upon recovery from COVID-19. Results: A total of 360 HCWs (11.7%) had tested positive for COVID-19. Nurses constituted the highest percentage of COVID-19-positive HCWs (224, 62.2%), while those working in outpatient clinics were at the highest risk, accounting for 110 cases (30.6%). A statistically significant number of HCWs working in the intensive care unit (ICU) had COVID-19-positive co-workers. Furthermore, there was a correlation between the monthly number of all COVID-19-positive cases in Turkey and the number of COVID-19-positive HCWs in Turkey. Conclusions: The results suggest that HCWs did not sufficiently comply with preventive measures in low-risk work units, including outpatient clinics. Furthermore, the number of COVID-19-positive HCWs correlates with the number of COVID-19-positive co-workers and individuals in the general population.

Keywords: CO-WORKERS; COVID-19; EPIDEMIOLOGY; HEALTH ASSESSMENT; HEALTHCARE WORKERS; HOSPITAL INFECTION; INFECTIOUS DISEASES; OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: Unit of Occupational Medicine and Internal Medicine Clinic, Mersin City Training and Research Hospital, Mersin, Turkey

Publication date: December 1, 2023

This article was made available online on December 31, 2023 as a Fast Track article with title: "Work Environment of Healthcare Workers with COVID-19 in a Hospital in Turkey".

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  • The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.

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