What influences the close contact between health care workers and patients? An observational study in a hospital dental outpatient department

Background

Dental outpatient departments, characterized by close proximity and unmasked patients, present a considerable risk of respiratory infections for health care workers (HCWs). However, the lack of comprehensive data on close contact (< 1.5 m) between HCWs and patients poses a significant obstacle to the development of targeted control strategies.

Methods

An observation study was conducted at a hospital in Shenzhen, China, utilizing depth cameras with machine learning to capture close-contact behaviors of patients with HCWs. Additionally, questionnaires were administered to collect patient demographics.

Results

The study included 200 patients, 10 dental practitioners, and 10 nurses. Patients had significantly higher close-contact rates with dental practitioners (97.5%) compared with nurses (72.8%, P < .001). The reason for the visit significantly influenced patient-practitioner (P = .018) and patient-nurse (P = .007) close-contact time, with the highest values observed in prosthodontics and orthodontics patients. Furthermore, patient age also significantly impacted the close-contact rate with nurses (P = .024), with the highest rate observed in patients below 14 years old at 85% [interquartile range: 70-93].

Conclusions

Dental outpatient departments exhibit high HCW-patient close-contact rates, influenced by visit purpose and patient age. Enhanced infection control measures are warranted, particularly for prosthodontics and orthodontics patients or those below 14 years old.