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. 2023 Mar;35(2-3):162-167.
doi: 10.1177/10105395231159262. Epub 2023 Mar 5.

Factors Associated With Nosocomial COVID-19 Infection Among Health Care Workers in an Urban-Setting Malaysia Hospital

Jun Fai Yap  1   2 , Rui Jie Ng  1   2 , Si Ming Chin  1 , Rafidah Mohammed Abu Bakar  1 , Nik Zulhakim Nik Jaafar  1 , Siti Zuhairah Mohamad Razali  3 , Siti Nadhila Ahmad  1 , Chiu Wan Ng  1   2 , Rafdzah Ahmad Zaki  1   2 , Sharifah Faridah Syed Omar  3   4 , Adeeba Kamarulzaman  4 , Nazirah Hasnan  5 , Sasheela Sri La Sri Ponnampalavanar  3   4 , Yin Cheng Lim  1   2 , Victor Chee Wai Hoe  1   2
Affiliations

Factors Associated With Nosocomial COVID-19 Infection Among Health Care Workers in an Urban-Setting Malaysia Hospital

Jun Fai Yap et al. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

This single-center study aimed to explore the factors associated with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission in a hospital. All laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases among health care workers (HCWs) in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia were analyzed cross-sectionally from January 25, 2020, to September 10, 2021. A total of 897 HCWs in the hospital had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection during the study period. Around 37.4% of HCWs were suspected to acquire COVID-19 infection from the hospital workplace. Factors associated with lower odds of workplace COVID-19 transmission were being females, ≥30 years old, fully vaccinated, and working as clinical support staff. Involvement in COVID-19 patient care was significantly associated with higher odds (adjusted odds ratio = 3.53) of workplace COVID-19 transmission as compared with non-workplace transmission. Most HCWs in the tertiary hospital acquired COVID-19 infection from non-workplace settings. During a pandemic, it is important to communicate with HCWs about the risk of both workplace and non-workplace COVID-19 transmission and to implement measures to reduce both workplace and non-workplace COVID-19 transmission.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccination; SARS-CoV-2; hospital; outbreak; workplace risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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