COVID-19 Mortality Among Massachusetts Workers and the Association with Telework Ability, 2020

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fitzsimmons K ; Grattan K ; Hood M ; Laing J ; Sparer-Fine E
• Description:
  Background: Working outside the home put some workers at risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure and might partly explain elevated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality rates in the first months of the pandemic in certain groups of Massachusetts workers. To further investigate this premise, we examined COVID-19 mortality among Massachusetts workers, with a specific focus on telework ability based on occupation. Methods: COVID-19-associated deaths between January 1 and December 31, 2020 among Massachusetts residents aged 18-64 years were analyzed. Deaths were categorized into occupation-based quadrants (Q) of telework ability. Age-adjusted rates were calculated by key demographics, industry, occupation, and telework quadrant using American Community Survey workforce estimates as denominators. Rate ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals comparing rates for quadrants with workers unlikely able to telework (Q2, Q3, Q4) to that among those likely able to telework (Q1) were calculated. Results: The overall age-adjusted COVID-19-associated mortality rate was 26.4 deaths per 100,000 workers. Workers who were male, Black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, born outside the US, and with lower than a high school education level experienced the highest rates among their respective demographic groups. The rate varied by industry, occupation and telework quadrant. RRs comparing Q2, Q3, and Q4 to Q1 were 0.99 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.8-1.2), 3.2 (95% CI: 2.6-3.8) and 2.5 (95% CI: 2.0-3.0), respectively. Conclusion: Findings suggest a positive association between working on-site and COVID-19-associated mortality. Work-related factors likely contributed to COVID-19 among Massachusetts workers and should be considered in future studies of COVID-19 and similar diseases. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environment Environmental Exposure Environmental Pollution Hazardous Substances Mining Occupational Health Safety Waste Management
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: COVID-19 COVID-19 Disease Transmission Epidemiology Massachusetts Mortality Rates Occupational Health Occupations SARS-CoV-2 Telework
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  364-375
• Volume:
  67
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069310
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2024 Apr; 67(4):364-375
• Contact Point Address:
  Kathleen Fitzsimmons, PhD, MPH, Occupational Health Surveillance Program, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 250 Washington St., Boston, MA 02108
• Email:
  kathleen.fitzsimmons@mass.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b359075c1f2335f1343e98034bdc1d291855b92c251e5a11f0cd287e3b7813e3f58b92e57d66819922fca1dd9c06de210347932c3f6367993224706b7146c4ca
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207810/cdc_207810_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 879.03 KB ]