5 Must-Do Domestic Staff Screening Tests To Keep Your Family Safe

Domestic staff like cooks, nannies, and house help have become ‘adopted’ members of the nuclear family unit in Nigeria.

The hustle and bustle, the daily grind that comes with living in Urban areas like Lagos make having a domestic staff a necessity, especially for working couples with young children.

Families need the help of domestic staff to run the household for different reasons. Domestic workers are people hired to work in private homes to clean, cook, run errands, provide care to children, the elderly, or disabled individuals.

Domestic staff includes nannies, drivers, cooks, house helps, maids, and others whose jobs involve direct contact with members of the family.

Before hiring domestic staff, there are some medical tests he/she needs to undergo for the safety of the family since they have close contact with everyone in the family.

It is important as an employer of domestic staff to be sure of the current health status of these much-needed staff, such that the health of your household is not placed under health risks.

Domestic Staff screening tests are health tests conducted to provide you with the required information about your domestic help’s health before they become part of the household.

These sets of tests screen for communicable diseases in the staff that works in homes.

Why do I need to get my domestic staff tested?

It provides you vital information on your staff’s health.

To ensure family safety. Domestic staff such as cooks, cleaners, nannies, etc are always in contact with food, the kids, and in the living space. Undergoing relevant health tests can assure you that they have no current health conditions that are easily transmittable.

The medical test also provides an opportunity for the staff to know their health status, threat, and risks.

It can also make them detect health issues so that they can make plans for treatments if needed.

What are the recommended domestic staff screening tests?

HIV Rapid:

This test is used to detect the existence of HIV in the body. The test can be carried out in serum, saliva, or urine. HIV can be transferred through blood contact like sharing a blade, needle, syringe, etc. HIV is contagious and should be tested for before hiring domestic staff. A positive test result is not a reason not to hire your preferred staff but helps you to make an informed decision.

Hepatitis B Screening:

Hepatitis B virus is a highly contagious double-stranded DNA virus that causes acute and chronic liver infection. Blood tests can detect signs of the hepatitis B virus in the body. This disease can be transferred when the blood, semen, or other body fluid of an infected person enters the body of someone who is not infected.

Hepatitis A:

This infection is caused by the Hepatitis A virus. It is a highly contagious infection that can be spread from contaminated food or water or contact with an infected person.

Tuberculosis:

TB is a contagious infection caused by bacteria, it mostly affects the lungs. It can also spread to other parts of the body like the spine and brain. TB is spread from person to person through cough, sneeze, or spit. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected.

Full blood count screening:

This blood test is used to evaluate overall health. This can be used to foresee a wider range of disorders, such as infection, anemia, leukemia. Full blood count tests evaluate different elements and form the blood, such as Hemoglobin, red blood cells, white blood cells, hematocrit, and Platelets.

Urinalysis test/Urine test:

This is a form of screening where a small sample of your urine is tested to help detect issues that need to be treated, such as infections or kidney disease. It can also enable the discovery of severe diseases in the early stages, like kidney disease, diabetes, or liver disease.

Pregnancy Test:

This is a simple test that offers a positive or negative answer to the question, are you pregnant. As much as pregnancy should not be grounds for non-hire. Knowing if your potential domestic staff is pregnant or not, allows you to make an informed decision about your next steps.

Domestic Staff screening tests are recommended for everyone considering hiring for the safety of their family.

Healthtracka has put together two affordable packages to get your domestic staff screened before resuming in your home:

Basic Plan: This plan screens your domestic staff for communicable diseases to ensure your safety. This plan contains HIV Rapid, Tuberculosis, Pregnancy tests for women, and Packed Cell Volume (PCV). Book here now.

Standard Plan: This plan will give you a fuller overview of your domestic staff to keep you safe from communicable diseases. This plan contains 7 main screenings namely HIV Rapid, Hepatitis B Screening, Hepatitis A, Tuberculosis, Full Blood Count, Urinalysis, and a Pregnancy (bonus test) for women.

Can I afford this test?

The Domestic staff screening tests are affordable and designed with you in mind. You can book the best from as little as N20,000 only and you get a Home Sample Collection.

Where can I get tested?

To get tested at the comfort of your home, book your domestic staff screening test and schedule a sample collection appointment. It is fast, convenient, and affordable.

What is the testing process like?

Order for your test: Order for your pre-wedding test preferable package, select and pay for the package.

Get your samples taken: Choose to have our medical team come in for home sample collection.

Receive your results online: Your digital results will be sent to you by email 24-48 hours after the sample gets to the lab. You can view or download the results to share with your doctor.

What if any of my tests come out positive?

You are in good hands when you book your domestic staff screening test with Healthtracka. In the case of a positive result, you can review your results with any of our doctors who will take you through what your next steps should be.

‘Our vision at Healthtracka is to empower every Nigerian to take control of their health, prevent diseases and effectively manage existing medical conditions with the help of at-home health testing’.