COVID-19: Establishing, implementing and assessment safety strategy, descriptive interventional study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Infectious Disease Control
• Public Health

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted medical training, impacting academic and professional development.
• Ensuring the safety of medical students during practical sessions is crucial for their continued education.
• Existing safety measures needed evaluation for effectiveness in reducing SARS-CoV-2 exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a comprehensive safety strategy for applied medical students.
• To reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure during in-person practical sessions.
• To assess the efficiency of the implemented safety strategy using compliance and serological data.

Main Methods:

• An interventional descriptive study design was employed.
• A safety strategy with eight conditions and 50 requirements was established and implemented.
• Compliance with the protocol and COVID-19 serological diagnosis (IgM, IgA, IgG) were used as key performance indicators.

Main Results:

• 78.1% of students strictly followed the safety protocol.
• 12.6% of participants tested positive for COVID-19 during the study period.
• Serological testing revealed significant IgM+IgA (38.9%) and IgG (37.7%) positivity, often asymptomatic.

Conclusions:

• Standardized protocols combined with serological diagnostics are effective for measuring safety protocol effectiveness.
• The implemented safety strategy successfully reduced COVID-19 exposure risk for medical students.
• Physical distancing was significantly associated with reduced IgM+IgA seropositivity.