Assessing COVID-19 outcomes among healthcare workers: a retrospective study

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this research was to investigate the outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in healthcare workers, assess the incidence of infection among them, and identify factors linked to the severity of the disease.

Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted retrospectively in Duhok city, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, from September 2021 to January 2023.

Results: The study included 1,958 participants, of whom 1,338 (68.33%) contracted the infection. Among them, 830 (62.03%) and 372 (27.81%) patients experienced mild and moderate infections, respectively, while 136 (10.1%) had severe infections. The results indicated that several factors, including maintaining a healthy lifestyle, avoiding obesity, having a chronic condition, working consecutive hours, and being in an overwhelmed work environment were significantly associated with a higher severity of infection (p < 0.05). However, factors such as smoking habits, adherence to preventive health guidelines, direct exposure to COVID-19 patients, work days and patterns, family members with COVID-19, and hand/glove sterilization did not appear to have a significant effect on the severity of infection (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: These findings may offer valuable insights for clinicians and public health officials, and aid in the development of effective strategies to manage COVID-19 patients based on their risk factors for infection severity.

Keywords: COVID-19; Iraq; healthcare workers; outcomes.