Diagnosing occupational COVID-19 in Croatian healthcare workers

Area of Science:

• Occupational Medicine
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be recognized as an occupational disease by occupational health physicians (OHPs) with appropriate documentation.
• Croatian healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk for occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
• Assessing occupational COVID-19 claims requires thorough work-related and medical documentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze documentation submitted by Croatian HCWs seeking occupational disease diagnosis for COVID-19.
• To evaluate the relevance of this documentation in the context of European and Croatian guidelines.
• To identify challenges and areas for improvement in the occupational disease diagnosis process for COVID-19 in HCWs.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 100 Croatian HCWs diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 who applied for occupational disease status.
• Data collection via an online questionnaire focusing on workplace exposure, symptoms, and submitted documentation.
• Analysis of work-related documents (job description, employer statement) and medical records (PCR test, patient history).

Main Results:

• The majority of participants (95) worked in hospitals, with nurses (75) being the most represented group.
• Infection sources were primarily patients (68) and colleagues (31), with 87% experiencing at least one COVID-19 symptom.
• A significant number of participants (80) failed to submit all obligatory documents, including job descriptions and employer statements.

Conclusions:

• Close contact with patients and colleagues represents the primary risk for occupational COVID-19 among HCWs.
• There is a critical need for improved collaboration between OHPs, occupational safety experts, employers, and affected workers.
• Streamlining documentation requirements and processes is essential for accurate and efficient occupational disease diagnosis in HCWs.