Health Care Access Among Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers, 31 States, 2017–2018

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boal, Winifred L. ; Li J ; Silver, Sharon R.
• Description:
  Objectives: Essential workers in the United States need access to health care services for preventive care and for diagnosis and treatment of illnesses (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] or other infectious or chronic diseases) to remain healthy and continue working during a pandemic. This study evaluated access to health care services among selected essential workers. Methods: We used the most recent data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2017-2018, to estimate the prevalence of 4 measures of health care access (having health insurance, being able to afford to see a doctor when needed, having a personal health care provider, and having a routine checkup in the past year) by broad and detailed occupation group among 189 208 adults aged 18-64. Results: Of all occupations studied, workers in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations were most likely to have no health insurance (46.4%). Personal care aides were most likely to have been unable to see a doctor when needed because of cost (29.3%). Construction laborers were most likely to lack a personal health care provider (51.1%) and to have not had a routine physical checkup in the past year (50.6%). Compared with workers in general, workers in 3 broad occupation groups-food preparation and serving; building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; and construction trades-had significantly lower levels of health care access for all 4 measures. Conclusion: Lack of health insurance and underinsurance were common among subsets of essential workers. Limited access to health care might decrease essential workers' access to medical testing and needed care and hinder their ability to address underlying conditions, thereby increasing their risk of severe outcomes from some infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. Improving access to health care for all workers, including essential workers, is critical to ensure workers' health and workforce stability. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Occupational Health Preventive Medicine Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: BRFSS Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System BRFSS Essential Workers Health Care Health Care Access Health Services Occupation Occupations Preventive Medicine
• ISSN:
  0033-3549
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  301-309
• Volume:
  137
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062335
• Citation:
  Public Health Rep 2022 Mar/Apr; 137(2):301-309
• Contact Point Address:
  Winifred L. Boal, MPH, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Field Studies and Engineering, 1090 Tusculum Ave, R-17, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  wboal@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Public Health Reports
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:851fa85c4d1eb4f738375c6fcc74b3617e2d6a98bab714f610d11c3f16b32868881e9b2cd71862ff2755bc31c22940c623a0b1bb3125062fff6bd46e55bfb304
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225603/cdc_225603_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 917.91 KB ]