Reduction of MERS-CoV Transmission among Healthcare Workers and Patients in Saudi Arabian Healthcare Settings: A Scoping Review

Authors

  • Salem Al Ammi Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, and Disaster Management and Emergency Dispatch Centre, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
  • Bandr Mzahim Disaster Management and Emergency Dispatch Centre, and Adult Emergency Medicine Department, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
  • Hisham Alomari Disaster Management and Emergency Dispatch Centre, and Adult Emergency Medicine Department, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
  • Bandar Almutairi Presidency of State Security, Saudi Arabia
  • Abdulrahman Alzahrani Adult Emergency Medicine Department, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52609/jmlph.v3i1.63

Keywords:

critical care, outbreak, personal protective equipment, severe acute respiratory infection, MERS-CoV

Abstract

Background

No review consolidating available evidence of the various interventions for preventing MERS-CoV transmission in healthcare settings has been published to inform practice. The MERS-CoV outbreak in Saudi Arabia led to wide-scale hospitalisations and, among other individuals at risk, healthcare workers (HCW) were one of the most affected groups. This study evaluates the effectiveness of various interventions implemented to prevent MERS-CoV transmission to HCW and MERS-negative patients in Saudi Arabian healthcare settings.

Methods

This review summarises and evaluates the effectiveness of MERS-CoV infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in Saudi Arabian hospital settings. Instead of using ‘best quality/evidence’ studies, the review has included as many relevant studies as possible.

Results

Various IPC measures were deemed effective. However, since no analysis of their effectiveness had been undertaken, it was not possible to determine the interventions’ level of effectiveness as applied in hospital settings. The studies appeared to rely on the assumption that the extent of MERS-CoV transmission control observed was a direct reflection of the implemented IPC measures.

Conclusions

Robust studies, using empirical methods, should be conducted to measure the effectiveness of the various IPC measures developed and implemented to control MERS-CoV transmission

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Published

2023-01-01

How to Cite

Al Ammi, S., Mzahim, B., Alomari, H., Almutairi, B. ., & Alzahrani, A. (2023). Reduction of MERS-CoV Transmission among Healthcare Workers and Patients in Saudi Arabian Healthcare Settings: A Scoping Review . The Journal of Medicine, Law & Public Health, 3(1), 162–194. https://doi.org/10.52609/jmlph.v3i1.63

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2023): Jan-Mar

Section

Thesis

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Salem Al Ammi, Bandr Mzahim, Hisham Alomari, Bandar Almutairi, Abdulrahman Alzahrani

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.