Risk Factors of Prevalence of COVID-19 Infection in Healthcare: A Review

Emerging Covid-19 disease has been described as an occupational disease especially for healthcare professionals.  The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors affecting the prevalence of Covid-19 disease in healthcare workers (HCWs).

In this review study, indexed studies from December 2019 to January 2021 with the keywords such as Covid-19, Coronavirus, Healthcare and Risk Factor were searched in the electronic databases of Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar. Based on the search results 22 studies were included in the study.

The risk factors for the outbreak of this disease among HCWs can be divided into 5 groups, including psychological, underlying, occupational, social and disease transmission risk factors.  HCWs, as a high-risk group, in direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious substances, they have a large share in transmitting the disease to others. For example, the probability of transmission from physicians to family members is 20.8% and to others is estimated at 25%. An important factor in the transmission of the disease is distance. Distances <20 cm in routine examinations and <5 cm in detailed examinations by physicians provide the potential for high transmission of the disease to ophthalmologists. Age, lack of hand care, comorbidities and autoimmunity, poor sleep quality, work stress, lack of PPE, workload and close contact to COVID-19 disease have been identified as risk factors for the transmission the disease.

HCWs, can by observing health tips and educating patients, will play an important role in controlling COVID-19 disease.