Study: Healthcare Workers Face 3.5 Times Higher Risk of COVID-19 Infection

This study was conducted between March 24 and April 23 in the United Kingdom and the United States. It was based on the analysis of data entered by users in a special "Covid" smartphone app during the period. The risks of contracting the disease between healthcare workers in direct contact with patients and the rest of the users were compared.

The results of the study indicate that the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases was 2747 per 100,000 healthcare worker app users compared to 242 per 100,000 users for the general population. In view of these results, the authors "estimate that healthcare workers are 3.4 times more likely to be positive for Covid-19".

But the risk is five times higher for healthcare workers "from ethnic minorities, black or Asian", or with medical history, it is specified. "Our results confirm the structural inequalities in the face of Covid-19. Healthcare workers from minorities were more likely to work in riskier clinical environments, with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 patients, and had less access to adequate protective equipment." Another risk factor: unequal access to masks, gloves, gowns and other protections.

This study had initially taken into account about 2.6 million users in the UK and 182,408 in the US. Subsequently, people who had used the app for less than 24 hours and those who tested positive were eliminated. Only 2.1 million participants remained, of whom 99,795 identified as healthcare workers in direct contact with patients.