SynthesisBMJ open2021
COVID-19 and healthcare workers: a rapid systematic review into risks and preventive measures.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06158724 (COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment for Vaccinated Health Workers and Convalescents), which is not on this map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment for Vaccinated Health Workers and Convalescents
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Occupational health and safety in the wake of COVID-19: insights from India's workforce.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- The Work Environment during Coronavirus Epidemics and Pandemics: A Systematic Review of Studies Using Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed-Methods Designs.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- COVID-19 pandemic-related mortality, infection, symptoms, complications, comorbidities, and other aspects of physical health among healthcare workers globally: An umbrella review.International journal of nursing studies · 2022Pooled it
- Lessons from Two Early COVID-19 Hospital Outbreaks in Germany to Inform Strategies for Controlling Emerging Nosocomial Outbreaks of Highly Transmissible Respiratory Viruses.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Interpersonal Needs and Dysfunctional Self-Focus Mediate the Effect of Dysfunctional Pandemic Grief on Suicidality Among Nursing Professionals Who Witnessed Patients' Deaths.Journal of Korean medical science · 2025Article
- Frequency, lethality, and demographic trends of acute respiratory viruses in hospitalized patients: insights from a German tertiary care hospital from july 2022 to april 2023.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Mental health among healthcare workers during COVID-19: a study to oversee the impact of the risk perception and relationship with inflammation from blood-based extracellular vesicles.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Postpandemic Evaluation of the Eco-Efficiency of Personal Protective Equipment Against COVID-19 in Emergency Departments: Proposal for a Mixed Methods Study.JMIR research protocols · 2023Article
- Article
- Article
- Mental health and well-being of anaesthetists during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.Anaesthesia · 2023Article
- Knowledge, attitude, and practices on COVID-19 prevention and diagnosis among medical workers in the radiology department: A multicenter cross-sectional study in China.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Observational
- The prevalence of facial pressure injuries among nurses during COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship to COVID-19 infection.Journal of tissue viability · 2022Article
- Article
- Latent profiles of multi-dimensionality of self-compassion predict youth psychological adjustment outcomes during the COVID-19: A longitudinal mixture regression analysis.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2022Article
- The duty to care and nurses' well-being during a pandemic.Nursing ethics · 2022Article
- Personal protective equipment related skin changes among nurses working in pandemic intensive care unit: A qualitative study.Journal of tissue viability · 2022Article
- Assessment of COVID-19 prevention and protection measures in hospitals.Cleaner engineering and technology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic is demanding for occupational medicine and for public health. As healthcare workers (HCWs) fight impacts of SARS-CoV-2 on front lines, we must create safe work environments through comprehensive risk assessments, evaluation and effective implementation of counter-measures. We ask: 'What does current literature report on health risks at workplaces regarding COVID-19?' and 'What do current studies report on the effectiveness of enacted preventative recommendations?'
methodsAs a snapshot of early HCW research, on 26 April 2020, we conducted a rapid systematic literature search in three databases (PubMed, Web of Science and PsycInfo) for COVID-19-related health outcomes and preventive measures in healthcare-associated workplaces.
results27 studies were identified as relevant for exploring the risk of infection, 11 studies evaluated preventive measures. The studies described that SARS-CoV-2 impacts significantly on HCW's health and well-being, not only through infections (n=6), but also from a mental health perspective (n=16). 4 studies reported indirect risks such as skin injuries, one study described headaches to result from the use of personal protective equipment. Few studies provided information on the effectiveness of prevention strategies. Overall, most studies on health risks as well as on the effectiveness of preventive measures were of a moderate-to-low quality; this was mainly due to limitations in study design, imprecise exposure and outcome assessments.
conclusionsDue to widespread exposure of HCW to SARS-CoV-2, workplaces in healthcare must be as safe as possible. Information from HCW can provide valuable insights into how infections spread, into direct and indirect health effects and into how effectively counter-measures mitigate adverse health outcomes. However, available research disallows to judge which counter-measure(s) of a current 'mix' should be prioritised for HCW. To arrive at evidence-based cost-effective prevention strategies, more well-conceived studies on the effectiveness of counter-measures are needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.