SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among 77,587 healthcare workers: a national observational longitudinal cohort study in Wales, United Kingdom, April to November 2020

Hollinghurst, Joe, North, Laura, Szakmany, Tamas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3632-8844, Pugh, Richard, Davies, Gwyneth A, Sivakumaran, Shanya, Jarvis, Rebecca, Rolles, Martin, Pickrell, W Owen, Akbari, Ashley, Davies, Gareth, Griffiths, Rowena, Lyons, Jane, Torabi, Fatemeh, Fry, Richard, Gravenor, Mike B and Lyons, Ronan A 2022. SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among 77,587 healthcare workers: a national observational longitudinal cohort study in Wales, United Kingdom, April to November 2020. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 115 (12) , pp. 467-478. 10.1177/01410768221107119

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Abstract

Objectives: To better understand the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among healthcare workers, leading to recommendations for the prioritisation of personal protective equipment, testing, training and vaccination. Design: Observational, longitudinal, national cohort study. Setting: Our cohort were secondary care (hospital-based) healthcare workers employed by NHS Wales (United Kingdom) organisations from 1 April 2020 to 30 November 2020. Participants: We included 577,756 monthly observations among 77,587 healthcare workers. Using linked anonymised datasets, participants were grouped into 20 staff roles. Additionally, each role was deemed either patient-facing, non-patient-facing or undetermined. This was linked to individual demographic details and dates of positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests. Main outcome measures: We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression models to determine odds ratios (ORs) for the risk of a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test. Results: Patient-facing healthcare workers were at the highest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection with an adjusted OR (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 2.28 (95% CI 2.10–2.47). We found that after adjustment, foundation year doctors (OR 1.83 [95% CI 1.47–2.27]), healthcare support workers [OR 1.36 [95% CI 1.20–1.54]) and hospital nurses (OR 1.27 [95% CI 1.12–1.44]) were at the highest risk of infection among all staff groups. Younger healthcare workers and those living in more deprived areas were at a higher risk of infection. We also observed that infection rates varied over time and by organisation. Conclusions: These findings have important policy implications for the prioritisation of vaccination, testing, training and personal protective equipment provision for patient-facing roles and the higher risk staff groups.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Start Date: 2022-07-07
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	0141-0768
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 December 2022
Date of Acceptance:	29 May 2022
Last Modified:	20 May 2023 06:18
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/154825

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