Nurses' contacts and potential for infectious disease transmission

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Mathematical Modeling
• Public Health

Background:

• Healthcare workers, particularly nurses, face elevated risks of infectious disease exposure due to frequent contact with potentially infectious individuals.
• Influenza pandemics pose a significant threat to healthcare systems, with nurse absenteeism potentially leading to critical staff shortages.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the utility of individual contact data from the healthcare sector for enhancing mathematical models of infectious disease transmission.
• To quantify the contact patterns of nurses compared to a general population sample.

Main Methods:

• A paper diary methodology was employed to collect daily contact data from nurses and matched controls.
• Contacts were defined as two-way conversations exceeding two words or skin-to-skin interactions.
• Data from 129 nurses and 129 matched controls were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Nurses reported a median of 40 daily contacts, with 85% being work-related, compared to 12 contacts (33% work-related) for controls.
• Among nurses, 51% of work contacts were with patients (often involving skin-to-skin contact and short durations) and 40% were with other staff members.
• Contact data revealed specific patterns relevant to disease transmission within healthcare settings.

Conclusions:

• Individual contact data from nurses is valuable for refining mathematical models of infectious disease spread.
• These models can improve predictions of healthcare staff availability during pandemics.
• Findings support enhanced pandemic preparedness planning through better understanding of occupational exposure risks.