Hand Dermatitis among Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prevalence, and Risk Factors

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundHealth care workers (HCWs) need to perform new preventive measures to protect themselves and patients against ongoing COVID-19 transmission, which can increase the occurrence of hand dermatitis (HD) among them.ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the prevalence of HD among HCWs and its possible risk factors in IRAN.MethodsA survey of 159 HCWS working in university hospitals was performed between August to September 2020. Research data were collected via the standardized Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire (NOSQ-2002).ResultsThe prevalence of HD in the study population was 51.6%. Females had a 3.84 fold higher risk of HD than males (confidence interval (CI): 1.85-8). HCWs older than 40 years and those who aged 30-39 years had a 9.6 and 1.72 fold higher risk of HD than HCWs aged 20-29 years (CI: 2.6-35.7; CI: 0.87-3.4, respectively). A significant association was found between the prevalence of HD among HCWs and working hours per week, and wearing gloves (P<0.05).ConclusionPossible risk factors for developing HD among HCWs are female gender and older age. Preventive measures for HD are needed for HCWs, especially during the COVID- 19 pandemic.