How Brazilian oral health care workers face COVID-19: surveillance, biosafety, and education strategies

Abstract

Aim: To investigate surveillance, biosafety, and education strategies of Brazilian oral health care workers (OHCWs) during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study covering OHCWs from a single multicenter research centre. A self-administered and validated online questionnaire was used for data collection, including the following variables: sociodemographic, medical history, biosafety, professional experience, surveillance, and education. Results: The sample consisted of 644 OHCWs (82.5% dentists, 13.2% dental assistants and 4.3% technicians), most without comorbidities (84.8%), from the public (51.7%) and private (48.3%) health systems, in 140 cities of a southern state. The most prominent measures of surveillance were waiting room distancing and visual alerts, symptom assessment, and availability of guidelines on COVID-19. Regarding biosafety measures, the lowest adherence was related to intraoral radiographs (2.7±1.4; 95%CI: 2.6–2.9), use of dental dams (2.1±1.4; 95%CI: 2.0–2.2), and availability of high-power suction systems (2.5±1.7; 95%CI: 2.3–2.6). Among OHCWs, 52.6% received guidance on measures to take during dental care in the workplace. Continuing education was mainly through documents from non-governmental health authorities (77.4%). Conclusion: Surveillance and biosafety measures were adopted, but activities that reduce the spread of aerosols had less adherence. These findings underscore the importance of considering dental practices, and surveillance and education strategies to formulate policies and relevant support to address health system challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. A coordinated action of permanent education by policymakers is necessary.