COVID-19 Prevalence among Healthcare Workers. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Tafadzwa Dzinamarira; Grant Murewanhema; Malizgani Mhango; Patrick Gad Iradukunda; Itai Chitungo; Moreblessing Mashora; Pelagia Makanda; James Atwine; Munashe Chimene; Elliot Mbunge; Munyaradzi Paul Mapingure; Innocent Chingombe; Godfrey Musuka; Sphamandla Josias Nkambule; Bernard Ngara

doi:10.3390/ijerph19010146

COVID-19 Prevalence among Healthcare Workers. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 23;19(1):146. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010146.

Authors

Tafadzwa Dzinamarira^{1

2}, Grant Murewanhema³, Malizgani Mhango⁴, Patrick Gad Iradukunda⁵, Itai Chitungo⁶, Moreblessing Mashora⁷, Pelagia Makanda⁸, James Atwine⁸, Munashe Chimene⁹, Elliot Mbunge¹⁰, Munyaradzi Paul Mapingure², Innocent Chingombe², Godfrey Musuka², Sphamandla Josias Nkambule¹¹, Bernard Ngara⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Health Systems & Public Health, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
² ICAP at Columbia University, Harare, Zimbabwe.
³ Unit of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department of Primary Health Care Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
⁴ School of Public Health, University of Western Cape, Cape Town 7535, South Africa.
⁵ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
⁶ Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
⁷ Department of Public Health, Mount Kenya University, Kigali 00100, Rwanda.
⁸ Department of Medicine, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou 121001, China.
⁹ Department of Health Sciences, Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe.
¹⁰ Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Accounting and Informatics, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa.
¹¹ Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa.

Abstract

Understanding the burden of SARS-CoV-2 infections among healthcare workers is a critical component to inform occupational health policy and strategy. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to map and analayse the available global evidence on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections among healthcare workers. The random-effects adjusted pooled prevalence of COVID-19 among those studies that conducted the test using the antibody (Ab) method was 7% [95% CI: 3 to 17%]. The random-effects adjusted pooled prevalence of COVID-19 among those studies that conducted the test using the PCR method was 11% [95% CI: 7 to 16%]. We found the burden of COVID-19 among healthcare workers to be quite significant and therefore a cause for global health concern. Furthermore, COVID-19 infections among healthcare workers affect service delivery through workers' sick leave, the isolation of confirmed cases and quarantine of contacts, all of which place significant strain on an already shrunken health workforce.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; healthcare worker; meta-analysis; systematic review.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Review
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Health Personnel
Humans
Prevalence
SARS-CoV-2
Sick Leave