scholarly journals Monitoring health care workers at risk for COVID-19 using wearable sensors and smartphone technology: Protocol for an observational mobile health study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline A. Clingan ◽  
Manasa Dittakavi ◽  
Michelle Rozwadowski ◽  
Kristen N. Gilley ◽  
Christine R. Cislo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Study Entry ◽  
Single Institution ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
One Year ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

BACKGROUND Health care workers (HCWs) have been working in the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic with high risks of viral exposure, infection, and transmission. Standard COVID-19 testing is insufficient to protect HCWs from these risks and prevent the spread of disease. Continuous monitoring of physiological data with wearable sensors, self-monitoring of symptoms, and asymptomatic COVID testing may aid in the early detection of COVID-19 in HCWs and may help reduce further transmission among HCWs, patients, and families. OBJECTIVE By using wearable sensors, smartphone-based symptom logging, and biospecimens, this project aimed to assist HCWs in self-monitoring of COVID-19. METHODS We conducted a prospective, longitudinal study of HCWs at a single institution. Study duration was one year, wherein participants were instructed on the continuous use of two wearable sensors (Fitbit Charge 3 smartwatch and TempTraq temperature patches) for up to 30-days. Participants consented to providing biospecimens (e.g., nasal swabs, saliva swabs, blood) for up to one year from study entry. Using a smartphone app called Roadmap 2.0, participants entered a daily mood score, submitted daily COVID-19 symptoms, and completed demographic and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) surveys at study entry and 30 days later. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were also conducted at the end of the 30-day period, following completion of daily mood and symptoms reporting as well as continuous wearable sensor use. RESULTS Two hundred twenty-six HCWs were enrolled between April 28, 2020 and December 07, 2020. The last participant completed the 30-day study procedures on January 16, 2021. Data collection will continue through January 2023, and data analyses are ongoing. CONCLUSIONS Using wearable sensors, smartphone-based symptom logging and survey completion, and biospecimen collections, this study will potentially provide data on the prevalence of COVID-19 infection among HCWs at a single institution. The study will also assess the feasibility of leveraging wearable sensors and self-monitoring of symptoms in a HCW population. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT04756869

scholarly journals Immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in health care workers following a COVID-19 outbreak: A prospective longitudinal study

2020 ◽  
Vol 130 ◽  
pp. 104575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Fill Malfertheiner ◽  
Susanne Brandstetter ◽  
Samra Roth ◽  
Susanne Harner ◽  
Heike Buntrock-Döpke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

scholarly journals Prospective Longitudinal Serosurvey of Health Care Workers in the First Wave of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in a Quaternary Care Hospital in Munich, Germany

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Weinberger ◽  
Julius Steffen ◽  
Andreas Osterman ◽  
Tonina T Mueller ◽  
Maximilian Muenchhoff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Health Care Personnel ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Antibody Assays ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

Abstract Background High infection rates among health care personnel in an uncontained pandemic can paralyze health systems due to staff shortages. Risk constellations and rates of seroconversion for health care workers during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic are still largely unclear. Methods Health care personnel (n=300) on different organizational units in the LMU Munich University Hospital were included and followed in this prospective longitudinal study in the period of March 24 until July 7, 2020. Participants were monitored in intervals of two to six weeks using different antibody assays for serological testing and questionnaires to evaluate risk contacts. In a subgroup of infected participants, we obtained nasopharyngeal swabs to perform whole genome sequencing for outbreak characterization. Results Health care workers involved in patient care on dedicated COVID-19 wards or on regular non-COVID-19 wards showed a higher rate of SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion compared to staff in the emergency department and non-frontline personnel. The landscape of risk contacts in these units was dynamic, with a decrease of unprotected risk contacts in the emergency department and an increase on non-COVID-19 wards. Both, the intensity and number of risk contacts, were associated with higher rates of seroconversion. On regular wards, staff infections tended to occur in clusters, while infections on COVID-19 wards were less frequent and apparently independent of each other. Conclusion The risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection for front-line health care workers was increased during the first pandemic wave in Southern Germany. Stringent measures for infection control are essential to protect all patient-facing staff during the ongoing pandemic.

scholarly journals The Sustained Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Care Workers One Year after the Outbreak—A Repeated Cross-Sectional Survey in a Tertiary Hospital of North-East Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 13374
Author(s):  
Antonio Lasalvia ◽  
Luca Bodini ◽  
Francesco Amaddeo ◽  
Stefano Porru ◽  
Angela Carta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed to evaluate the mental health outcomes of health care workers (HCWs) of the Verona academic hospital trust (Italy) one year after the outbreak of COVID-19 and to identify predicted risk factors. A web-based survey was conducted from mid-April to mid-May 2021 on hospital workers one year after the first evaluation performed during the lock-down phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-traumatic stress, general anxiety, depression, and burnout were assessed by using, respectively, the impact of event scale (IES-R), the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Maslach burnout inventory-general survey (MBI-GS). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with each of the four mental health outcomes one year after the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 1033 HCWs participated. The percentage of HCWs scoring above the cut-off increased from 2020 to 2021 in all of the outcome domains (anxiety, 50.1% vs. 55.7, p < 0.05; depression, 26.6% vs. 40.6%, p < 0.001; burnout, 28.6% vs. 40.6%, p < 0.001; chi-square test), with the exception of post-traumatic distress. There was also an increase when stratifying by occupation and workplace, with a greater increase for depression and burnout. Multivariate analysis revealed that, one year after the COVID-19 outbreak, nurses were at the greatest risk of anxiety and depression, whereas residents were at the greatest risk of burnout (in terms of low professional efficacy). Working in intensive care units was associated with an increased risk of developing severe emotional exhaustion and a cynical attitude towards work.

scholarly journals Immunity status of Health Care Workers post recovery from COVID-19: An online longitudinal panel survey

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
S B Shah ◽  
R Chawla ◽  
A Pahade ◽  
N Bansal ◽  
A Mehta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Natural Infection ◽  
Panel Survey ◽  
Plasma Therapy ◽  
Priority List ◽  
Corona Virus ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

AbstractBackgroundCorona virus has literally travelled “around the world in 80 days” akin to Fogg and Passepartoute of Jules Verne fame. Manning of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) wards and ICUs, also surgery on COVID-positive patients is increasingly being relegated to that subset of health care workers (HCW) who themselves have resumed duties after surviving COVID-19 infection. Convalescent plasma therapy has been widely endorsed. Several vaccines are in the pipeline as potential preventive measures against the virus keeping HCW on the priority-list of recipients. Immunity passports are being validated for foreign travel. These events share a common presumption that exposure to COVID-19 virus (natural infection/inoculation) produces protective adaptive immunity. It is unknown whether all (COVID-19) infected patients mount a protective immune response and for how long any protective effect will last.MethodsThis single institutional prospective longitudinal panel survey questions were deployed to the respondents online via email/WhatsApp groups to ascertain the symptomology and immunity status of HCW in the months following COVID-19 infection. The survey was administered to the same set/cohort of health care workers over 6 months.Results165 responses from 151 respondents (70 at 1-2months; 95 at 3-4 months including 14 at both time points) were analysed. 7.14% of infected HCW failed to develop IgG antibodies at 4-6 weeks. 91.7% HCW with IgG titres in the highest bracket had experienced anosmia. Mean antibody titres were 12.08 ± 9.56 and 9.72 ± 9.34 at 1-2 months and 3-4 months post-development of first symptom, respectively.ConclusionUnderstanding of COVID-19 patterns of variation in HCW may guide their deployment in the COVID ward and COVID-OTs. Revelation of this enigma (by quantification of serial IgG antibody levels) is critical for predicting response to vaccines under trial, fostering effective stratagems and tactics for pandemic control, ascertaining validity of immunity passports and understanding longevity/durability of protection by forecasting immunological memory against SARS-CoV-2.

scholarly journals High prevalence of hepatitis C infection among Brazilian hemodialysis patients in Rio de Janeiro: a one-year follow-up study

1995 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. O. M. Vanderborght ◽  
C. Rouzere ◽  
C. F. Ginuino ◽  
G. Maertens ◽  
H. Van Heuverswyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hepatitis C ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Attack Rate ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Hemodialysis Patients ◽  
Hepatitis C Infection ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
One Year

Nearly 400 hemodialysis patients treated at 5 different hemodialysis units in Rio de Janeiro were tested for one year for the presence of hepatitis C and B markers. During the same period, samples were also obtained from 35 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients and from 242 health care workers. Depending on the hemodialysis unit studied, anti-HCV prevalence rates ranging from 47% to 82% (mean 65%) were detected. CAPD patients showed a lower prevalence of 17%. The prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) among health care workers was 2.9%. We observed a hepatitis C attack rate of 11.5% per year in the anti-HCV-negative hemodialysis patient population. An average of 9.4% of the hemodialysis patients were chronic carriers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) (range 1.8% - 20.4%), while 48.9% showed markers of previous HBV infection. The HBV attack rate was 4.5% per year (range 0% - 6%). These results indicate an alarming high prevalence of anti-HCV among hemodialysis patients of this studied region.

scholarly journals Trauma and stressor-related disorders among health care workers during COVID-19 pandemic and the role of the gender: A prospective longitudinal survey.

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Canal-Rivero ◽  
Laura Armesto-Luque ◽  
Ana Rubio-García ◽  
Gonzalo Rodriguez-Menéndez ◽  
Nathalia Garrido-Torres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Longitudinal Survey ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

scholarly journals Risk Stratification as a Tool to Rationalize Quarantine of Health Care Workers Exposed to COVID-19 Cases: Evidence From a Tertiary Health Care Center in India

2020 ◽  
pp. 101053952097731
Author(s):  
Ravneet Kaur ◽  
Shashi Kant ◽  
Mohan Bairwa ◽  
Arvind Kumar ◽  
Shivram Dhakad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Risk Stratification ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Health Care Center ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Evidence Based Guideline

Quarantine of health care workers (HCWs) exposed to COVID-19–confirmed cases is a well-known strategy for limiting the transmission of infection. However, during a pandemic situation in a resource-constraint setting, we require an evidence-based guideline for quarantining HCWs. We developed an algorithm for exposure-based risk stratification and quarantine of HCWs. We did contact tracing and risk stratification of 3853 HCWs, of whom 560 (14.5%) were categorized as high-risk contacts. High-risk contacts were quarantined for 14 days and underwent testing for COVID-19, while low-risk contacts continued their work with adherence to physical distancing, hand hygiene, appropriate use of personal protective equipment, and self-monitoring of symptoms. Overall, 118 (3.1%) contacts tested positive for COVID-19. The positivity rate among high-risk contacts was 7.1% (95% confidence interval = 5.2-9.6). Our strategy of risk stratification prevented 3215 HCWs from being quarantined and thus saved 45 010 person-days of health workforce in the institution.

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