IMPACT OF SARS-COV-2 ON FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN AZAD KASHMIR: A MULTICENTRE SURVEY

Authors

  • Ambreen Ehsan Department of Gynaecology, Combined Military Hospital, Mangla, Pakistan
  • Maryam Zubair Department of Gynaecology, Combined Military Hospital, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan
  • Nosheena Akhtar Shabir Department of Obs/Gyn, AJK Medical College, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan
  • Hina Pirzada Department of Gynaecology, Combined Military Hospital, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan
  • Umairah Yaqoob Department of Gynaecology, Combined Military Hospital, Kharian, Pakistan
  • Abida Islam Department of Gynaecology, Combined Military Hospital, Badeen, Pakistan
  • Shafaq Hanif Department of Gynaecology, Abbas Institute of Medical Sciences, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan
  • Zahid Azeem Department of Biochemistry, AJK Medical College, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan
  • Zahid Iqbal Awan Department of Public Health, District Health Office, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Furqan Ubaid Department of Medicine, Abbas Institute of Medical Sciences, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan

Keywords:

Sars Cov2, Impact, frontline worker, Kashmir

Abstract

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are especially prone to contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection due to their work requirements. This study was conducted to analyze the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infection among frontline healthcare workers and various predictive factors of this infection in healthcare workers. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data was collected at Obs/Gyn Department, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (SKBZ)/Combined Military Hospital Muzaffarabad, from Main Covid-19 Pandemic Data Collection and Information Centre, Muzaffarabad, from 15th April to 14th October 2021. Screening was offered to healthcare professionals and other supporting staff of all hospitals dealing with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Information was recorded on a structured questionnaire. Categorical variable were explained by frequency. Fischer exact test and ?2 test were used, and p<0.05 were considered significant. Results: There are 4,776 healthcare workers in AJK. A total of 2,219 individuals were COVID positive, out of them 118 were healthcare workers. Males were 53% and females were 47%; 77% of cases were aged 25?50 years. Physicians were 51.7% outnumbering nurses and allied staff. The cumulative incidence was 2.4%. Infection rate among frontline HCWs was 1%; it was 1.6 among HCWs in other departments, and 0.5% in HCWs with no patient contact. The rate of co-morbidities in affected HCWs was 33.05%. Conclusion: The risk of disease was high among frontline healthcare workers as compared to general population. The severity of infection was more in patients with co-morbidities. Among HCWs, the highest number of patients with COVID-19 were physicians.

Pak J Physiol 2022;18(2):58–61

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Published

30-06-2022

How to Cite

1.
Ehsan A, Zubair M, Shabir NA, Pirzada H, Yaqoob U, Islam A, et al. IMPACT OF SARS-COV-2 ON FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN AZAD KASHMIR: A MULTICENTRE SURVEY. Pak J Phsyiol [Internet]. 2022 Jun. 30 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];18(2):58-61. Available from: https://pjp.pps.org.pk/index.php/PJP/article/view/1378