Publication:

Epidemiological characteristics of the healthcare workers morbidity during the COVID-19 pandemic, Central Bosnia Canton, Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Background Healthcare workers at all levels of the healthcare system are at the front line of the response to the COVID-19 epidemic and are consequently more exposed to risk of infection. To examine the characteristics of the healthcare workers morbidity during the COVID-19 pandemic in the area of Central Bosnia Canton.

Methods This research includes all healthcare workers of this Canton (n=2276) in the period from March 2020 to March 2022. A total of 666 health workers tested positive (RT-PCR method) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) in healthcare institutions.

Results The average age of the patients was 45.16 (±11.93) (range 18-77 years old), with a median of 45 years old. Of the total number of positive patients, 68.2% were women, 165 or 24.77% were doctors, and 57.80% were other medical workers. Interactions with infected colleagues accounted for 28.4% of infections, 22.2% of infections occurred during patient care, 36.3% outside a healthcare facility, and in 13.1% the mode of infection was not confirmed. Due to the severity of the clinical status, a total of 74 people were hospitalized with a hospitalization rate of 11.11 (95% CI 8.78-13.87). The second positivity of the test (by RT-PCR method) was after 12.34 months from the first infection (mean=12.34: SD±4.270; median=13).

Conclusions High rates of morbidity among healthcare workers certainly have a significant, long-term impact on the healthcare provision, especially in healthcare systems where there is a pronounced lack of professional workers.