Incidence, Prevalence, and Sources of COVID-19 Infection among Healthcare Workers in Hospitals in Malaysia

Abdul Aziz Harith (), Mohd Hafiz Ab Gani, Robin Griffiths, Azlihanis Abdul Hadi, Nor Aishah Abu Bakar, Julia Myers, Maznieda Mahjom, Rosnawati Muhamad Robat and Muhammad Zulfakhar Zubir
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Abdul Aziz Harith: Occupational and Aviation Medicine Department, University of Otago Wellington, New Zealand, 23A Mein Street, Newtown, Wellington 6242, New Zealand
Mohd Hafiz Ab Gani: Occupational Health Research Centre, Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Shah Alam 40170, Malaysia
Robin Griffiths: Occupational and Aviation Medicine Department, University of Otago Wellington, New Zealand, 23A Mein Street, Newtown, Wellington 6242, New Zealand
Azlihanis Abdul Hadi: Medical Development Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Aras 3-7, Blok E1, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya 62590, Malaysia
Nor Aishah Abu Bakar: Medical Development Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Aras 3-7, Blok E1, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya 62590, Malaysia
Julia Myers: Occupational and Aviation Medicine Department, University of Otago Wellington, New Zealand, 23A Mein Street, Newtown, Wellington 6242, New Zealand
Maznieda Mahjom: Occupational Health Research Centre, Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health, Shah Alam 40170, Malaysia
Rosnawati Muhamad Robat: Occupational Health Unit, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Shah Alam 40170, Malaysia
Muhammad Zulfakhar Zubir: Medical Development Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Aras 3-7, Blok E1, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya 62590, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic introduced significant novel risks for healthcare workers and healthcare services. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, trends, characteristics, and sources of COVID-19 infection among healthcare workers during the early COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysian hospitals. A cross-sectional study used secondary data collected from a COVID-19 surveillance system for healthcare workers between January and December 2020. Two surges in COVID-19 cases among healthcare workers in Malaysia were epidemiologically correlated to a similarly intense COVID-19 pattern of transmission in the community. The period prevalence of COVID-19 infection and the mortality rate among healthcare workers in Malaysia were 1.03% and 0.0019%, respectively. The majority of infections originated from the workplace (53.3%); a total of 36.3% occurred among staff; a total of 17.0% occurred between patients and staff; and 43.2% originated from the community. Healthcare workers had a 2.9 times higher incidence risk ratio for the acquisition of COVID-19 infection than the general population. Nursing professionals were the most highly infected occupational group (40.5%), followed by medical doctors and specialists (24.1%), and healthcare assistants (9.7%). The top three departments registering COVID-19 infections were the medical department (23.3%), the emergency department (17.7%), and hospital administration and governance (9.1%). Occupational safety and health units need to be vigilant for the early detection of a disease outbreak to prevent the avoidable spread of disease in high-risk settings. The transformation of some tertiary hospitals to dedicated COVID-19 care, the monitoring of new procedures for the management of COVID-19 patients, and appropriate resource allocation are key to successful risk mitigation strategies.

Keywords: prevalence; infection rates; incidence rates; COVID-19; healthcare workers; health workers; hospital; source; mortality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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