Browsing by Author "Kateta, Steve Robert"

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    Characterising health care workers’ risk of exposure to SARS-COV-2 compared to non-health care workers in Blantyre, Malawi.
    (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, 2020-06-05) Kateta, Steve Robert
    Background: Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise exponentially globally and also in Malawi. Frontline health care workers (HCWs) remain at increased risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2, a virus that causes COVID-19. Sickness and death of HCWs to COVID- 19 will have devastating effects on Malawi’s already fragile health system. This study aims at characterising risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 among HCWs compared to non-HCWs. Main Objective To characterize the exposure and risk of HCWs to COVID-19 in Blantyre compared to non-HCWs Specific objectives i) To describe the demographic characteristics of HCW in the frontline of COVID-19 response ii) To establish the incidence (proportion of HCWs with) of COVID-19 among HCW compared to the non-HCWs iii) To ascertain the workplace/ occupational factors associated with/or contributing to health care workers contracting SARS-CoV-2 Study design: Prospective descriptive cohort study Study place: Blantyre District, Malawi Study population: Frontline HCWs and matched non-HCWs in Blantyre Study duration: May to August 2020 Data management and analysis: An electronic, predesigned questionnaire will be used to collect data. Data curation and storage will be GCP compliant. STATA software will be used to analyse the results. Proportions of HCWs and non-HCWs infected with SARS-CoV-2 will be calculated and Chi-square test used to test the difference. Multivariable logistic regression will be performed to explore occupational factors that increase the risk of being infected. Expected results: We expect to understand the risk health care workers have of contracting SARS-CoV-2 and ascertain the workplace factors that increase this risk. This information will assist policy makers in optimising infection prevention control measures in workplaces, contributing to protecting HCWs in Malawi. Dissemination of results: Results of this study will be presented to Blantyre DHO, QECH, College of Medicine and Ministry of Health. Furthermore, results will be disseminated through local, regional and international scientific meetings/conferences/seminars/workshops and by publications in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to a thesis being submitted in fulfilment of a Master of Medicine degree, a copy of the final report and any enduing publications will be submitted to COMREC and the College of Medicine Library.