An assessment of the level of concern among hospital-based health-care workers regarding MERS outbreaks in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BackgroundMiddle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is caused by MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV). More than 80% of reported cases have occurred in Saudi Arabia, with a mortality exceeding 50%. Health-care workers (HCWs) are at risk of acquiring and transmitting this virus, so the concerns of HCWs in Saudi Arabia regarding MERS were evaluated.MethodsAn anonymous, self-administered, previously validated questionnaire was given to 1031 HCWs at three tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia from October to December, 2014. Concerns regarding the disease, its severity and governmental efforts to contain it, as well as disease outcomes were assessed using 31 concern statements in five distinct domains. A total concern score was calculated for each HCW. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify predictors of high concern scores.ResultsThe average age of participants was 37.1 ± 9.0 years, 65.8% were married and 59.1% were nurses. The majority of respondents (70.4%) felt at risk of contracting a MERS-CoV infection at work, 69.1% felt threatened if a colleague contracted MERS-CoV, 60.9% felt obliged to care for patients infected with MERS-CoV and 87.8% did not feel safe at work using standard precautions. In addition, 87.7% believed that the government should isolate patients with MERS in specialized hospitals, 73.7% agreed with travel restriction to and from areas affected by MERS and 65.3% agreed with avoiding inviting expatriates from such areas. After adjustment for covariates, high concern scores were significantly associated with being a Saudi national (p < 0.001), a non-physician (p < 0.001) and working in the central region (p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe majority of respondents reported concern regarding MERS-CoV infection from exposure at work. The overall level of concern may be influenced by previous experience of MERS outbreaks and related cultural issues. The concerns of HCWs may affect their overall effectiveness in an outbreak and should be addressed by incorporating management strategies in outbreak planning.

Epidemic and Pandemic Events Preparedness in Ministry of Health Hospitals, Jeddah, 2017, a Cross Sectional Study.

“…Discussion:-Concerns, perceived impacts, and HCW preparedness for epidemic and pandemic events:-In this study, most HCWs perceived that their job might endanger them and they may become ill. This is analogous to previous studies where the respondent staff felt at risk of contracting the infection at workplaces and had a sense of potential sickness during work (23)(24)(25) .…”

Network Analysis of MERS Coronavirus within Households, Communities, and Hospitals to Identify Most Centralized and Super-Spreading in the Arabian Peninsula, 2012 to 2016

“…High connectivity among healthcare workers and their proximity to MERS cases is not surprising because of the nature of their job. In general, healthcare workers across Saudi Arabia have negative attitude toward MERS infection [34,35]. Although infectious disease epidemiological plans were put in place in some hospitals, outbreaks of MERS still occurred due to the failure to adhere to the infection control measures [33].…”

“…Although infectious disease epidemiological plans were put in place in some hospitals, outbreaks of MERS still occurred due to the failure to adhere to the infection control measures [33]. A high proportion of healthcare workers felt at risk of contracting the disease but obliged to care for MERS patients [33,34]. Similarly, a high percentage of healthcare workers do not feel safe at work using standard precautions [34].…”

“…A high proportion of healthcare workers felt at risk of contracting the disease but obliged to care for MERS patients [33,34]. Similarly, a high percentage of healthcare workers do not feel safe at work using standard precautions [34]. In terms of the number of connected contacts (via degree centrality), nodes 1664, 1025, 124, 133, and 897 were the top 5 most active MERS cases, but they do not reflect the spread of MERS.…”

A multi-faceted approach of a nursing led education in response to MERS-CoV infection

“…Simple infection control measures result of the first outbreak in Al-Hasa, KSA [2]. MERS-CoV as other emerging infec-tious diseases had been associated with fears and anxiety of taking care of patients [10,11]. Thus, we developed a nurse-led program to stream line the screening process and to establish a cohort of healthcare workers to obtain nasopharyngeal swabs for MERS-CoV testing.…”