Prevalence of COViD-19 testing among health workers providing care for suspected and confirmed cases/Prevalencia de testagem para COVID-19 entre trabalhadores da saude atuantes na assistencia a casos suspeitos e confirmados

• Published in: Revista brasileira de medicina do trabalho 2021-04, Vol.19 (2), p.209
• Main Authors: Gallasch, Cristiane Helena, da Silva, Renata Flavia Abreu, de Araujo Faria, Magda Guimaraes, de Andrade Lourencao, Daniela Campos, Pires, Mateus Po, Almeida, Mirian Cristina dos Santos, Baptista, Patricia Campos Pavan, da Silva, Silmar Maria, Mininel, Vivian Aline, Silva, Joao Silvestre, Jr
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1679-4435
• DOI: 10.47626/1679-4435-2020-722

Objectives: To describe the prevalence of testing among health workers providing care for suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19. Methods: This quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2020, using a convenience sample. An online questionnaire was used for collecting sociodemographic, occupational, and clinical data, which were analyzed descriptively. Results: In total, 437 health workers participated in the study, with a predominance of nursing workers (58.68%), women (70.3%), age between 30 and 49 years (54.2%), individuals living in the Southeast region of Brazil (60.54%), working in the public care system (69.11%), and focused on primary care (30.89%). Among the participants, 36% reported comorbidities, 21.1% had symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, and only 27% had undergone some type of COVID-19 testing. Conclusions: Despite the existence of risk comorbidities and symptoms suggestive of contamination, the frequency of testing was below one third among respondents. The lack of action compromises health surveillance and protection strategies for workers providing care for the population and may favor the contamination of new patients and the community. Keywords: pandemics; public health; occupational health; occupational risks. Objetivos: Descrever a prevalencia de testagem entre trabalhadores de saude atuantes na assistencia a casos suspeitos e confirmados de COVID-19 no Brasil. Metodos: Estudo transversal, de abordagem quantitativa, realizado entre abril e junho de 2020, com amostra composta por conveniencia, com formulario para coleta de dados sociodemograficos, ocupacionais e clinicos disponibilizados virtualmente, com dados analisados descritivamente. Resultados: Participaram do estudo 437 profissionais da area da saude, com predominio de profissionais de enfermagem (58,68%), mulheres (70,3%), entre 30 e 49 anos (54,2%), residentes na regiao Sudeste (60,54%), atuantes na rede publica (69,11%) e voltados a atencao primaria (30,89%). Entre os participantes, 36% relataram comorbidades, 21,1%, sintomas sugestivos de COVID-19 e apenas 27% haviam sido submetidos a algum tipo de testagem para COVID-19. Conclusoes: Apesar da existencia de comorbidades de risco e sintomas sugestivos de contaminacao, a frequencia de testagem foi inferior a um terco entre os respondentes. A falta de acao compromete acoes de vigilancia e de protecao a saude do trabalhador atuante na assistencia a populacao e pode favorecer, tambem, a contaminacao de