Occupational health protection for health workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: 6P-approach in China

Abstract

Health workers (HW) are on the frontline fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, they are exposed to multiple occupational hazards. This article analyzed the comprehensive measures of protecting HWs during the COVID-19 response in China. Occupational health protection of HWs was one of the key strategies of the public health measures adopted against the COVID-19 outbreak from the earliest stage in China. This prioritization of HWs health protection was based on the technical and policy guidance of WHO and International Labor Organization as well as the experiences from previous outbreaks in China. The comprehensive measures in China can be summarized as '6P-approach': public health emergency response, prompt learning from lessons, proactive measures of occupational health, precaution strategies against occupational hazards, personal protective equipment and medical devices supply, and professional networking. Through this 6P-approach, China was able to minimize the incidence of COVID-19 infection among HWs, while successfully containing the outbreak during the first quarter of 2020. Although the COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out, however, the COVID-19 pandemic is still under rapidly evolving situation. Experiences from China may provide other countries with an example of prioritizing and incorporating occupational health protection of HWs in their public health measures responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: China; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Health workers; Occupational health protection.