Issue

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2024)

Date Log

Submitted
February 3, 2026
Published
December 31, 2024

Copyright (c) 2024 Fatimah Mohammed Hussain Sherwani, Ghanim Yahya Mansor Okayri, Norah Awad Nafel Alharbi, Aisha Saud Ali Alenazi, Khulud Abduallah Omaysh, Sultan Rakkad Halwan Alsharari, Yahya Ahmed Ali Masrahi, Saad Dhafer Alqahtani, Nuha Abdulaziz Saad Almutairi, Shaya Mohammad Aldosari, Majidah Salem Alhejaili, Ali Mohammad Kamili

Creative Commons License

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

Health Security Begins at Reception: A Review of Frontline Triage and Biosurveillance in Primary Care and Dental Clinics

https://doi.org/10.64483/202412630
Fatimah Mohammed Hussain Sherwani
Sabya Hospital, Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Ghanim Yahya Mansor Okayri
Sabya General Hospital,Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Norah Awad Nafel Alharbi
Al-Qassim Al-Badaya, Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Aisha Saud Ali Alenazi
Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Khulud Abduallah Omaysh
Suwais PHC, Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Sultan Rakkad Halwan Alsharari
Al-Qurayyat General Hospital – Al-Qurayyat, Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Yahya Ahmed Ali Masrahi
Eye Specialist Hospital – Dhahran, Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Saad Dhafer Alqahtani
Prince Sultan Health Center – Al-Ahmadiyah, Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Nuha Abdulaziz Saad Almutairi
Aldiriyah Hospital – Riyadh,Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Shaya Mohammad Aldosari
Al-Sulail General Hospital, Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Majidah Salem Alhejaili
Dental Clinics Complex – Mansoura, Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia
Ali Mohammad Kamili
Erada Mental Health Hospital – Jazan, Ministry Of Health, Saudi Arabia

Corresponding Author(s) : Fatimah Mohammed Hussain Sherwani

Fsherani@moh.gov.sa

Saudi Journal of Medicine and Public Health, Vol. 1 No. 2 (2024)

Abstract

Background: The initial point of contact in primary care and dental clinics represents a critical, yet vulnerable, frontier in global health security. Frontline reception and triage, often managed by health and dental assistants, serve as the first line of detection for high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) and pandemic threats. Aim: This narrative review critically examines the role of clinic reception in biosurveillance, evaluates existing triage protocols, and proposes a systematic framework for empowering frontline staff as effective "first defenders." Methods: A comprehensive synthesis of literature (2010-2024) was conducted, analyzing studies on triage systems, infection prevention and control (IPC) in ambulatory settings, syndromic surveillance, and frontline healthcare worker training. Results: Significant gaps exist in inconsistent screening for travel and symptom red flags, inadequate training for non-clinical staff, poorly designed clinic flows allowing for disease transmission, and fragmented communication pathways to public health authorities. Conclusion: Health security can be substantially strengthened by standardizing "first-defender" training for reception staff, redesigning clinic layouts for rapid isolation, and integrating point-of-care diagnostics at triage. Empowering health and dental assistants is a cost-effective strategy to harden the healthcare system's entry points against biothreats.

Keywords

Biosurveillance, Triage, Health Security, Infection Control, Primary Care
Sherwani, F. M. H., Ghanim Yahya Mansor Okayri, Norah Awad Nafel Alharbi, Aisha Saud Ali Alenazi, Khulud Abduallah Omaysh, Sultan Rakkad Halwan Alsharari, … Ali Mohammad Kamili. (2024). Health Security Begins at Reception: A Review of Frontline Triage and Biosurveillance in Primary Care and Dental Clinics. Saudi Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 1(2), 2248–2254. https://doi.org/10.64483/202412630
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
References
  1. Ahmed, N., Sanghavi, K., Mathur, S., & McCullers, A. (2023). Patient portal use: Persistent disparities from pre-to post-onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 178, 105204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2023.105204
  2. Alhumaid, S., Al Mutair, A., Al Alawi, Z., Alsuliman, M., Ahmed, G. Y., Rabaan, A. A., ... & Al-Omari, A. (2021). Knowledge of infection prevention and control among healthcare workers and factors influencing compliance: a systematic review. Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, 10(1), 86. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-021-00957-0
  3. Anagnostopoulos-King, F., & Rodriguez, D. S. (2019). Infection control standards of care: a global perspective. In Infection Control in the Dental Office: A Global Perspective (pp. 63-75). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30085-2_5
  4. Billings, J., Ching, B. C. F., Gkofa, V., Greene, T., & Bloomfield, M. (2021). Experiences of frontline healthcare workers and their views about support during COVID-19 and previous pandemics: a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis. BMC health services research, 21(1), 923. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06917-z
  5. Bismark, M. M., Mathews, B., Morris, J. M., Thomas, L. A., & Studdert, D. M. (2016). Views on mandatory reporting of impaired health practitioners by their treating practitioners: a qualitative study from Australia. BMJ open, 6(12), e011988. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011988
  6. Brega, A. G., Freedman, M. A., LeBlanc, W. G., Barnard, J., Mabachi, N. M., Cifuentes, M., ... & West, D. R. (2015). Using the health literacy universal precautions toolkit to improve the quality of patient materials. Journal of health communication, 20(sup2), 69-76. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2015.1081997
  7. Cheng, V. C. C., Wong, S. C., Chuang, V. W. M., So, S. Y. C., Chen, J. H. K., Sridhar, S., ... & Yuen, K. Y. (2020). The role of community-wide wearing of face mask for control of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic due to SARS-CoV-2. Journal of Infection, 81(1), 107-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.04.024
  8. Dietz, L., Horve, P. F., Coil, D. A., Fretz, M., Eisen, J. A., & Van Den Wymelenberg, K. (2020). 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: built environment considerations to reduce transmission. Msystems, 5(2), 10-1128. https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00245-20
  9. Donaldson, L. J., & Neelam, D. (2020). World patient safety day: a call for action on health worker safety. Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management, 25(5), 171-173. https://doi.org/10.1177/2516043520961221
  10. Emanuel, E. J., Persad, G., Upshur, R., Thome, B., Parker, M., Glickman, A., ... & Phillips, J. P. (2020). Fair allocation of scarce medical resources in the time of Covid-19. New England Journal of Medicine, 382(21), 2049-2055. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsb2005114
  11. Faedda, S., Plaisant, A., Talu, V., & Tola, G. (2022). The role of urban environment design on health during the Covid-19 pandemic: A scoping review. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 791656. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.791656
  12. Fischer, W. A., Vetter, P., Bausch, D. G., Burgess, T., Davey, R. T., Fowler, R., ... & Jacobs, M. (2018). Ebola virus disease: an update on post-exposure prophylaxis. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 18(6), e183-e192. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30677-1
  13. Gostin, L. O., Hodge, J. G., & Wiley, L. F. (2020). Presidential powers and response to COVID-19. Jama, 323(16), 1547-1548. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.4335
  14. Hanson, K. E., Caliendo, A. M., Arias, C. A., Hayden, M. K., Englund, J. A., Lee, M. J., ... & Mustafa, R. A. (2021). Infectious Diseases Society of America Guidelines on the Diagnosis of COVID-19: Molecular diagnostic testing. Infectious Diseases Society of America 2020; Version 2.0. 0.
  15. Horve, P. F., Dietz, L. G., Bowles, G., MacCrone, G., Olsen-Martinez, A., Northcutt, D., ... & Van Den Wymelenberg, K. G. (2022). Longitudinal analysis of built environment and aerosol contamination associated with isolated COVID-19 positive individuals. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 7395. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11303-8
  16. Juneau, C. E., Briand, A. S., Collazzo, P., Siebert, U., & Pueyo, T. (2023). Effective contact tracing for COVID-19: A systematic review. Global Epidemiology, 5, 100103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloepi.2023.100103
  17. Khan, Y., O’Sullivan, T., Brown, A., Tracey, S., Gibson, J., Généreux, M., ... & Schwartz, B. (2018). Public health emergency preparedness: a framework to promote resilience. BMC public health, 18(1), 1344. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6250-7
  18. Lam, S. K., Kwong, E. W., Hung, M. S., Pang, S. M., & Chiang, V. C. (2018). Nurses’ preparedness for infectious disease outbreaks: A literature review and narrative synthesis of qualitative evidence. Journal of clinical nursing, 27(7-8), e1244-e1255. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14210
  19. Looi, K. H. (2022). Contextual factors of face mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommendations to increase compliance rate. The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences: MJMS, 29(1), 147. https://doi.org/10.21315/mjms2022.29.1.15
  20. Lurie, N., Keusch, G. T., & Dzau, V. J. (2021). Urgent lessons from COVID 19: why the world needs a standing, coordinated system and sustainable financing for global research and development. The Lancet, 397(10280), 1229-1236. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00503-1
  21. O'Hara, L. M., Thom, K. A., & Preas, M. A. (2018). Update to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee Guideline for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infection (2017): a summary, review, and strategies for implementation. American journal of infection control, 46(6), 602-609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2018.01.018
  22. Palinkas, L. A., Springgate, B. F., Sugarman, O. K., Hancock, J., Wennerstrom, A., Haywood, C., ... & Wells, K. B. (2021). A rapid assessment of disaster preparedness needs and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(2), 425. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020425
  23. Paoletti, P., Di Giuseppe, T., Lillo, C., Ben-Soussan, T. D., Bozkurt, A., Tabibnia, G., ... & Perasso, G. F. (2022). What can we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic? Resilience for the future and neuropsychopedagogical insights. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 993991. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.993991
  24. Qian, H., Miao, T., Liu, L., Zheng, X., Luo, D., & Li, Y. (2021). Indoor transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2. Indoor air, 31(3), 639-645. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12766
  25. Rebmann, T., & Carrico, R. (2017). Consistent infection prevention: vital during routine and emerging infectious diseases care. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 22(1), 10-3912. DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol22No01Man01
  26. Sadiq, A. A., Dougherty, R. B., Tyler, J., & Entress, R. (2023). Public alert and warning system literature review in the USA: Identifying research gaps and lessons for practice. Natural hazards, 117(2), 1711-1744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-05926-x
  27. Sert, G., Mega, E., & Dedeoğlu, A. K. (2022). Protecting privacy in mandatory reporting of infectious diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives from a developing country. Journal of medical ethics, 48(12), 1015-1019. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2021-107372
  28. Sexton, J. B., Adair, K. C., Leonard, M. W., Frankel, T. C., Proulx, J., Watson, S. R., ... & Frankel, A. S. (2018). Providing feedback following Leadership WalkRounds is associated with better patient safety culture, higher employee engagement and lower burnout. BMJ quality & safety, 27(4), 261-270. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2016-006399
  29. Shanafelt, T., Goh, J., & Sinsky, C. (2017). The business case for investing in physician well-being. JAMA internal medicine, 177(12), 1826-1832. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.4340
  30. Soe, H. H. K., Than, N. N., Lwin, H., Phyu, K. L., Htay, M. N. N., Moe, S., & Abas, A. L. (2018). Knowledge and attitude of mandatory infectious disease notification among final year medical students. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 7(4), 756-761. DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_300_17
  31. Tomossy, G. F., Bending, Z. J., & Maluga, P. (2017). Privacy and metadata: The hidden threat to whistle-blowers in public health systems. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 3(1), 124-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemep.2017.02.023
  32. Weber, D. J., Sickbert-Bennett, E. E., DiBiase, L. M., Brewer, B. E., Buchanan, M. O., Clark, C. A., ... & Thompson, S. C. (2023). A new paradigm for infection prevention programs: An integrated approach. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 44(1), 144-147. doi:10.1017/ice.2022.94
  33. Wong, J., Goh, Q. Y., Tan, Z., Lie, S. A., Tay, Y. C., Ng, S. Y., & Soh, C. R. (2020). Preparing for a COVID-19 pandemic: a review of operating room outbreak response measures in a large tertiary hospital in Singapore. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie, 67(6), 732-745. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12630-020-01620-9
  34. Zhang, X., Sun, Z., Ashcroft, T., Dozier, M., Ostrishko, K., Krishan, P., ... & Douglas, M. (2022). Compact cities and the Covid-19 pandemic: systematic review of the associations between transmission of Covid-19 or other respiratory viruses and population density or other features of neighbourhood design. Health & place, 76, 102827. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102827
Read More

Author Biography

Norah Awad Nafel Alharbi, Al-Qassim Al-Badaya, Ministry Of Health
  •  
Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 49 Download : 372