Preventing COVID-19 transmissions among healthcare workers (research up to April 2020)
Citation: Putri SI, Anulus A. Preventive actions to minimizing the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) transmissions among health workers: a systematic review. Journal of the Medical Sciences (Berkala ilmu Kedokteran). 2020;52(3):148-157.
Language: Abstract available in EN and ID. Full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: Nothing noted.
What is this? Healthcare workers are at high-risk from respiratory viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, and of contracting diseases such as COVID-19. Preventing and controlling infections among healthcare workers is important to reduce overall transmission and to ensure that health systems are resilient.
In this systematic review, the authors searched for studies of the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission among healthcare workers. They restricted their searches to studies published in English or Indonesian between January and April 2020. They included 7 studies, which were from China (6 studies) and England (1).
What was found: At the time of this review, the included studies showed that healthcare workers used social distancing, personal protective equipment, handwashing, screening for in-person visits and telemedicine as strategies to prevent transmission of COVID-19.
Implications: The authors of the review concluded that healthcare workers should be properly trained in cleaning and sanitation, as well as in the wearing of protective gear and practicing hand hygiene. They stated that governments should provide guidance on social distancing, self-isolation and quarantine.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of place of residence and occupation.
This summary was prepared by Sumra Ali, checked by Yasmeen Saeed and Cristián Mansilla, and finalized by Mike Clarke.