Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on Workers in Health and Social Services in Germany

Claudia Peters, Madeleine Dulon, Claudia Westermann, Agnessa Kozak and Albert Nienhaus
Additional contact information
Claudia Peters: Institute for Health Services Research in Dermatology and Nursing, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
Madeleine Dulon: Department of Occupational Medicine, Hazardous Substances and Public Health, Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Healthcare and Welfare Services, 22089 Hamburg, Germany
Claudia Westermann: Department of Occupational Medicine, Hazardous Substances and Public Health, Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Healthcare and Welfare Services, 22089 Hamburg, Germany
Agnessa Kozak: Institute for Health Services Research in Dermatology and Nursing, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
Albert Nienhaus: Institute for Health Services Research in Dermatology and Nursing, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-12

Abstract: Health workers are at increased risk for SARS-CoV-2 infections. What follows the acute infection is rarely reported in the occupational context. This study examines the employees’ consequences of COVID-19 infection, the risk factors and the impact on quality of life over time. In this baseline survey, respondents were asked about their COVID-19 infection in 2020 and their current health situation. Out of 2053 participants, almost 73% experienced persistent symptoms for more than three months, with fatigue/exhaustion, concentration/memory problems and shortness of breath being most frequently reported. Risk factors were older age, female gender, previous illness, many and severe symptoms during the acute infection, and outpatient medical care. An impaired health-related quality of life was found in participants suffering from persistent symptoms. Overall, a high need for rehabilitation to improve health and work ability is evident. Further follow-up surveys will observe the changes and the impact of vaccination on the consequences of COVID-19 among health workers.

Keywords: COVID-19; health workers; social workers; persistent symptoms; long COVID; post-COVID-19 syndrome (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/6983/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/6983/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:12:p:6983-:d:833345

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().