Ambreen Ehsan, Maryam Zubair, Nosheena Akhtar Shabir, Hina Pirzada, Umairah Yaqoob, Abida Islam, Shafaq Hanif, Zahid Azeem, Zahid Iqbal Awan, Muhammad Furqan Ubaid.
Impact of SARS-COV-2 on frontline healthcare workers in Azad Kashmir: a multicentre survey.
Pak J Physiol Jan ;18(2):58-61.

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 χ2 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.

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