ArticleBMJ open2022
Risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among front-line healthcare workers in Northeast Brazil: a respondent-driven sampling approach.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Estimating Hidden Population Size of COVID-19 using Respondent-Driven Sampling Method - A Systematic Review.Infectious disorders drug targets · 2024Pooled it
- Mapping the viral battlefield: SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics among healthcare workers in Brazil.Human resources for health · 2025Article
- Use of personal protective equipment among nurses in the pre- and post-COVID-19 vaccination periods.Revista latino-americana de enfermagem · 2025Article
- Reinfection and post-vaccination infection by SARS-CoV-2 in nursing professionals: a prospective cohort study, Recife, 2020-2023.Epidemiologia e servicos de saude : revista do Sistema Unico de Saude do Brasil · 2025Article
- From Acute Phase to Long COVID: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Epidemiological Profile and Clinical Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Employees at a Pediatric Hospital.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of frontline healthcare workers in a highly affected region in Brazil.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Evaluation of the characteristics of infection prevention and control programs and infection control committees in Brazilian hospitals: A countrywide cross-sectional study.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2023Article
- Mental health trajectories of Brazilian health workers during two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021).Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Article
- Employing Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) to recruit people who inject drugs (PWID) and other hard-to-reach populations during COVID-19: Lessons learned.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
25 authors at 9 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesWe assessed the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages and occurrence of biological accidents among front-line healthcare workers (HCW). DESIGN, SETTING AND
participantsUsing respondent-driven sampling, the study recruited distinct categories of HCW attending suspected or confirmed patients with COVID-19 from May 2020 to February 2021, in the Recife metropolitan area, Northeast Brazil. OUTCOME MEASURES: The criterion to assess SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCW was a positive self-reported PCR test.
resultsWe analysed 1525 HCW: 527 physicians, 471 registered nurses, 263 nursing assistants and 264 physical therapists. Women predominated in all categories (81.1%; 95% CI: 77.8% to 84.1%). Nurses were older with more comorbidities (hypertension and overweight/obesity) than the other staff. The overall prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 61.8% (95% CI: 55.7% to 67.5%) after adjustment for the cluster random effect, weighted by network, and the reference population size. Risk factors for a positive RT-PCR test were being a nursing assistant (OR adjusted: 2.56; 95% CI: 1.42 to 4.61), not always using all recommended PPE while assisting patients with COVID-19 (OR adj: 2.15; 95% CI: 1.02 to 4.53) and reporting a splash of biological fluid/respiratory secretion in the eyes (OR adj: 3.37; 95% CI: 1.10 to 10.34).
conclusionsThis study shows the high frequency of SARS-CoV2 infection among HCW presumably due to workplace exposures. In our setting, nursing assistant comprised the most vulnerable category. Our findings highlight the need for improving healthcare facility environments, specific training and supervision to cope with public health emergencies.
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