Risk Assessments of COVID-19 Exposure of Government-owned Public Health Center Physicians According to WHO in Indonesia

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn 2020, the death of physicians due to COVID-19 in Indonesia raises questions about the condition that caused the incident. What was the situation at the early stage of the pandemic, the use of WHO’s Risk Assessment questionnaire, and what lesson was learned about it? A Cross-sectional survey, using blast mail surveys targeting the Government-owned Public Health Center Physician’s WhatsApp application across Indonesia had held. A Self-administered questionnaire, using WHO’s “Risk assessment and management of exposure of health care workers in the context of Covid-19” which has been translated into Bahasa Indonesia. As result, there were 2.099 responses eligible for this study. At the early stage of the pandemic, 99,29% of Government-owned Public Health Center Physicians were at high risk of COVID-19 exposure. Its because on average 64,23% of the respondent not use PPE correctly, 15,53% of respondents still performing actions that produced aerosols in health centers, or 22,73% of respondents got biological accidents. At the early stage of the pandemic in Indonesia marked by the scarcity of PPE, the lack of awareness from the physicians and or the government make a double burden on the physicians. As for the use of questionnaires, there were challenging issues in conducting the study, such as respondents feeling redundant in answering the questionnaire. It is recommended that the Central and Regional Governments, health centers, and hospitals increase their commitment to protecting physicians from possible exposure to Covid-19, among others, through meeting standard APD needs, maintaining the cleanliness of health care facilities, updating the skill and knowledge about pandemics on physicians, and providing adequate incentives. The physician is also expected to adapt in many ways.