Background: While testing healthcare workers (HCWs) for SARS‐CoV‐2 is important to reduce transmission within healthcare settings, understanding the self‐reported patterns of testing is important for interpreting vaccine effectiveness and other COVID‐19‐related information. Objective: Using longitudinal data from the COVID‐19 cohort study, this study described trends in SARS‐CoV‐2 testing among Canadian HCWs between June 2020 and November 2023. Methods: HCWs completed an illness report for each instance of SARS‐CoV‐2 testing and episodes of symptoms compatible with COVID‐19 even if untested. Overall rates of testing among the participating cohort were calculated. Rates were stratified by province, reason for testing and COVID‐19 vaccination status using 4‐week intervals to smooth estimates. For episodes of symptomatic illness (only), the median time between symptom onset and first test was calculated, along with the percent of episodes initially receiving a negative result for SARS‐CoV‐2 that were reported as being retested. Results: Rates of testing for SARS‐CoV‐2 generally mirrored rates of hospitalisation for COVID‐19 among Canadians. Rates of testing were highest during the Omicron BA.1 wave (11.9 participants tested at least once per 1000 person‐days) and varied by province; vaccination status did not impact rates. The most common reason for testing was for symptoms. Testing for known exposure or routine reasons greatly decreased after the Omicron BA.1 wave. In participants who were tested for episodes of symptomatic illness, the median time between symptom onset and first test was 1 day (interquartile range 0–2). Reported retesting after an initial negative result remained low throughout the study period. Conclusions: Understanding testing behaviours is important for public health decision‐making including the analysis and interpretation of case data and vaccine effectiveness studies. It can also highlight possible missed case–finding opportunities in healthcare settings.

Background: The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) prompted renewed attention to infection prevention and control (IPC) programs in healthcare settings. Objective: This study aimed to investigate associations between factors derived from a hospital safety climate scale for respiratory diseases and Canadian healthcare providers’ (HCPs) hand hygiene and eye protection practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Cross-sectional analysis of the COVID-19 Cohort Study (2020–2023) of acute care HCPs providing direct patient care. Results: 100% compliance with Canadian guidelines for the use of eye protection was reported by 73.7%, hand hygiene before entering rooms by 65.3%, and after exiting patient rooms by 81.8% of the 1,361 participants. The adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) for hand hygiene after exiting a patient room was significantly higher for participants who rated organizational support for health and safety higher. The aIRR for the use of eye protection was significantly higher for people who rated their hospital as having fewer job hindrances related to completing their job while using protective equipment and reported higher ratings of their organization’s availability of protective supplies. Discussion: Our data support the association between HCPs’ perception of hospital safety-related organizational factors and the use of eye protection and practice of hand hygiene. These findings also suggest that ease of access impacts the use of eye protection. Conclusions: Although training and making equipment available are necessary, the perception of organizational factors, namely support for health and safety and absence of job hindrances, are important for improving the use of eye protection and hand hygiene.

Background: While testing healthcare workers (HCWs) for SARS-CoV-2 is important to reduce transmission within healthcare settings, understanding the self-reported patterns of testing is important for interpreting vaccine effectiveness and other COVID-19-related information. Objective: Using longitudinal data from the COVID-19 Cohort Study, this study described trends in SARS-CoV-2 testing among Canadian HCWs between June 2020 and November 2023. Methods: HCWs completed an illness report for each instance of SARS-CoV-2 testing and episodes of symptoms compatible with COVID-19 even if untested. Overall rates of testing were calculated along with rates stratified by participating province, reason for testing, and COVID-19 vaccination status. Results: Rates of testing for SARS-CoV-2 generally mirrored rates of hospitalization for COVID-19 among Canadians. Rates of testing were highest during the Omicron BA.1 wave and varied by region, while vaccination status did not impact rates. The most commonly reported reason for testing was for symptoms; testing for known/possible exposure or routine reasons greatly decreased after the Omicron BA.1 wave. In participants who were tested for episodes of symptomatic illness, the mean time to first test was 1.3 days. Reported retesting after an initial negative result remained low throughout the study period. Conclusions: Understanding testing behaviours is important for public health decision-making including the analysis and interpretation of case data and vaccine effectiveness studies. It can also highlight possible missed case-finding opportunities in healthcare settings.

The use of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) was imperative to avoid prolonged school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to understand the levels of adherence to and attitudes towards NPIs from February 2021 to December 2023 in schools in Ontario, Canada. Participants reported how frequently they, their coworkers, and their students used five NPIs: hand hygiene, covering coughs, staying home when ill, wearing a mask, and physically distancing. Open text comments provided participants with the option to provide additional details. Our mixed methods approach incorporated a series of descriptive statistics calculated at consecutive time points and thematic analysis. Participants reported higher adherence to NPIs than their coworkers and students, with less than perfect adherence that declined over time. Six themes emerged from the qualitative analysis on NPI use in schools: (1) the influence of time; (2) managing competing priorities; (3) a lack of enabling factors; (4) a lack of reinforcing factors; (5) the responsive use of NPIs; and (6) an emotional toll. To reduce the transmission of future communicable diseases and resultant staff and student sick days, ongoing commitment to hand hygiene, covering coughs, and staying home when ill is required.

The use of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) was imperative to avoid prolonged school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to understand the levels of adherence to and attitudes towards NPIs from February 2021 to December 2023 in schools in Ontario, Canada. Participants reported how frequently they, their coworkers, and their students used five NPIs: hand hygiene, covering coughs, staying home when ill, wearing a mask, and physically distancing. Open text comments provided participants with the option to provide additional details. A mixed methods approach incorporated a series of descriptive statistics calculated at consecutive time points and thematic analysis. Participants reported higher adherence to NPIs than their coworkers and students, with less than perfect adherence that declined over time. Six themes emerged from the analysis on NPI use in schools: 1) the influence of time; 2) managing competing priorities; 3) lack of enabling factors; 4) lack of reinforcing factors; 5) responsive use of NPIs; and 6) emotional toll. Poor use of hand hygiene, covering coughs, and staying home when ill indicate a need to improve these in schools as it would help reduce the transmission of communicable diseases and thereby reduce sick days for staff and students.