Estimating the burden of United States workers exposed to infection or disease: A key factor in containing risk of COVID-19 infection
Estimating the burden of United States workers exposed to infection or disease: A key factor in containing risk of COVID-19 infection
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0232452
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发表时间：
2020-04-28
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Seixas, Noah S.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Baker, Marissa G.;Peckham, Trevor K.;Seixas, Noah S.
随着COVID-19的全球传播，量化谁感染疾病的风险增加是一个令人信服的公共卫生利益。职业特点，如与公众接触和与其他工人密切接触，不仅使工人面临疾病的高风险，而且使他们成为疾病向社区传播的纽带。这种情况可能因出勤而进一步加剧，出勤一词用于描述尽管有疾病症状但仍来工作的行为。量化在工作场所经常暴露于感染和疾病的工人人数，并了解他们代表哪些职业群体，有助于促进对工作场所COVID-19以及随后的传染病爆发的公共卫生风险应对和管理。由劳工统计局（BLS）维护的国家就业数据（按标准职业分类）与BLS O*NET调查措施合并，报告每个职业的工人在工作中暴露于感染或疾病的频率。这使我们能够估计美国工人的数量，在所有职业中，暴露于疾病或感染在工作中超过一次month.ResultsBased我们的分析，大约10%（14.4 M）的美国工人受雇于职业暴露于疾病或感染每周至少发生一次。大约18.4%（2670万）的美国工人从事每月至少一次接触疾病或感染的职业。虽然大多数接触工人受雇于医疗保健部门，但其他职业部门也有很高比例的接触工人。其中包括保护性服务职业（如警察、惩教人员、消防员）、办公室和行政支助职业（如信使和送信员、病人服务代表）、教育职业（如幼儿园和日托教师）、社区和社会服务职业（社区卫生工作者、社会工作者、辅导员），甚至建筑和采掘职业（例如水管工、化粪池安装工、电梯维修工）。结论大量受雇于经常暴露于感染和疾病的职业的人员强调了所有工作场所制定COVID-19风险应对计划的重要性。鉴于美国劳动力在工作中接触疾病或感染的比例，这项分析也是一个重要的提醒，即工作场所是公共卫生干预措施的关键场所，可以保护工人及其服务的社区。
IntroductionWith the global spread of COVID-19, there is a compelling public health interest in quantifying who is at increased risk of contracting disease. Occupational characteristics, such as interfacing with the public and being in close quarters with other workers, not only put workers at high risk for disease, but also make them a nexus of disease transmission to the community. This can further be exacerbated through presenteeism, the term used to describe the act of coming to work despite being symptomatic for disease. Quantifying the number of workers who are frequently exposed to infection and disease in the workplace, and understanding which occupational groups they represent, can help to prompt public health risk response and management for COVID-19 in the workplace, and subsequent infectious disease outbreaks.MethodsTo estimate the number of United States workers frequently exposed to infection and disease in the workplace, national employment data (by Standard Occupational Classification) maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was merged with a BLS O*NET survey measure reporting how frequently workers in each occupation are exposed to infection or disease at work. This allowed us to estimate the number of United States workers, across all occupations, exposed to disease or infection at work more than once a month.ResultsBased on our analyses, approximately 10% (14.4 M) of United States workers are employed in occupations where exposure to disease or infection occurs at least once per week. Approximately 18.4% (26.7 M) of all United States workers are employed in occupations where exposure to disease or infection occurs at least once per month. While the majority of exposed workers are employed in healthcare sectors, other occupational sectors also have high proportions of exposed workers. These include protective service occupations (e.g. police officers, correctional officers, firefighters), office and administrative support occupations (e.g. couriers and messengers, patient service representatives), education occupations (e.g. preschool and daycare teachers), community and social services occupations (community health workers, social workers, counselors), and even construction and extraction occupations (e.g. plumbers, septic tank installers, elevator repair).ConclusionsThe large number of persons employed in occupations with frequent exposure to infection and disease underscore the importance of all workplaces developing risk response plans for COVID-19. Given the proportion of the United States workforce exposed to disease or infection at work, this analysis also serves as an important reminder that the workplace is a key locus for public health interventions, which could protect both workers and the communities they serve.