Analysis of cases and deaths by COVID-19 in Brazilian nursing professionals

Abstract Objective: to analyze confirmed cases and deaths by COVID-19 among nursing professionals in Brazil. Methods: epidemiological study using geoprocessing techniques. Data from March 20 until May 28 2020 were collected from the Conselho Federal de Enfermagem [Brazilian Federal Nursing Council]. We used Chi-squared, Mantel-Haenszel, and G test for analysing the association between deaths and age group, sex, geographical region of work. Results: 17,414 suspicious cases, 5,732 confirmed cases and 134 deaths occurred in the period. The Southeast region showed the highest number of cases (46.35%) and deaths (44.78%). The most affected age group regarding cases was 31-40 years (n = 2,515), and regarding deaths, 41-50 (n = 38). The death rate was higher in men. The variables “age group”, “sex” and “geographical region of work” were significantly correlated to deaths by COVID-19 (p < 0.05). The states Amapá, Roraima and Bahia presented the highest rate of cases per 1,000 officially acknowledged nursing professionals (6.28, 6.10 and 5.99, respectively). Conclusion: the data indicate the need for a critical perspective on the nursing field in order to combat COVID-19.

摘要 研究目的：分析巴西护理从业人员中新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）的确诊病例与死亡情况。
研究方法：本研究为采用地理处理技术的流行病学研究。研究数据采集自巴西联邦护理委员会（Conselho Federal de Enfermagem），时间跨度为2020年3月20日至2020年5月28日。本研究采用卡方检验（Chi-squared）、Mantel-Haenszel检验以及G检验（G test），分析死亡情况与年龄组、性别、工作地理区域之间的关联。
研究结果：本次研究周期内共计报告17414例疑似病例、5732例确诊病例以及134例死亡病例。其中东南部地区的确诊病例数占比达46.35%、死亡病例数占比达44.78%，均为全国最高。确诊病例中受影响最严重的年龄组为31~40岁（n=2515），死亡病例中受影响最严重的年龄组为41~50岁（n=38）。男性的病死率更高。年龄组、性别及工作地理区域这三个变量与COVID-19死亡情况均存在显著相关性（p<0.05）。阿马帕州、罗赖马州以及巴伊亚州每1000名正式注册护理从业人员的确诊病例率最高，分别为6.28、6.10和5.99。
研究结论：本研究数据表明，需对护理领域采取批判性视角以应对新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情。