Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Wang, Huihui
• Zeng, Wu
• Kabubei, Kenneth Munge
• Rasanathan, Jennifer J. K.
• Kazungu, Jacob
• Ginindza, Sandile
• Mtshali, Sifiso
• Salinas, Luis E.
• McClelland, Amanda
• Buissonniere, Marine
• Lee, Christopher T.
• Chuma, Jane
• Veillard, Jeremy
• Matsebula, Thulani
• Chopra, Mickey

Titel

Modelling the economic burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health care workers in four countries

Ist Teil von

• Nature communications, 2023-05, Vol.14 (1), p.2791-2791, Article 2791

Ort / Verlag

London: Nature Publishing Group UK

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Health care workers (HCWs) experienced greater risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study applies a cost-of-illness (COI) approach to model the economic burden associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections among HCWs in five low- and middle-income sites (Kenya, Eswatini, Colombia, KwaZulu-Natal province, and Western Cape province of South Africa) during the first year of the pandemic. We find that not only did HCWs have a higher incidence of COVID-19 than the general population, but in all sites except Colombia, viral transmission from infected HCWs to close contacts resulted in substantial secondary SARS-CoV-2 infection and death. Disruption in health services as a result of HCW illness affected maternal and child deaths dramatically. Total economic losses attributable to SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs as a share of total health expenditure ranged from 1.51% in Colombia to 8.38% in Western Cape province, South Africa. This economic burden to society highlights the importance of adequate infection prevention and control measures to minimize the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in HCWs. Health care workers were at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the early stage of the pandemic, and this had knock-on effects including secondary infections and disruptions in health service delivery. Here, the authors estimate the economic impacts of SARS-CoV-2 infections in health care workers at the society level in five low- and middle-income country settings.