Hygiene knowledge and practices and determinants of occupational safety among waste and sanitation workers in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic

Evaluation of occupational health and safety intervention for the waste and sanitation workers in Bangladesh during COVID-19

Waste and sanitation workers in South-Asian countries are vulnerable to injuries and diseases, including COVID-19. In Bangladesh, an intervention was implemented during COVID-19 to lower these workers' occupational health risks through training and PPE distribution. We assessed how the intervention affected their occupational health behaviors using a randomized cluster trial in 10 Bangladeshi cities, including seven intervention and three control areas. We conducted 499 surveys (Control-152, Intervention-347) and 47 structured observations (Control:15, Intervention:32) at baseline and 499 surveys (Control:150, Intervention:349) and 50 structured observations (Control:15, Intervention:35) at endline. To evaluate the impact of intervention at the endline, we used the difference in difference (DID) method. Compared to control, workers from intervention areas were more likely to have increased knowledge of using/maintaining PPEs (adjusted DID: 21%, CI: 8, 33), major COVID-19 transmission causes (adjusted DID: 27%, CI: 14, 40), and preventive measures (adjusted DID: 12%, CI: -0.6, 25), and improved attitude about using PPEs (adjusted DID: 36%, CI: 22, 49), washing PPEs (adjusted DID: 20%, CI: 8, 32). The intervention was more likely to improve workers' self-reported practice of taking adequate precautions after getting back from work (adjusted DID: 37%, CI: 27, 47) and changing/cleaning masks every day (adjusted DID: 47%, CI: 0.03, 94), and observed practices of maintaining coughing etiquette (DID: 20%, CI: 0.2, 40) at workplace and handwashing before wearing PPEs (DID: 27%, CI: 2, 52), after finishing work (DID: 31%, CI: -7, 69) & during work intervals (DID: 30%, CI: -33, 93). There was not much improvement in observed practices of mask use (DID: 1%, CI: -40, 42), handwashing before meals (DID: 2%, CI: -61, 65), and after toilet (DID: 7%, CI: -41, 55). This intervention has improved the knowledge, attitude and practice of the workers about critical occupational risk mitigation, which may be replicated in similar settings. Future interventions need to address occupational health-related injuries and health complications, introduce regular health checkups/insurance for the workers, create a balance between the quality and comfort of the PPEs and ensure a mechanism to ensure a regular supply of PPEs.

Multidimensional stressors and protective factors shaping physicians' work environments and work-related well-being in two large US cities during COVID-19

INTRODUCTION

Clinician burnout and poor work-related well-being reached a critical inflection point during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article applies a novel conceptual model informed by the Total Worker Health® approach to identify and describe multilevel stressors and protective factors that affected frontline physicians' work environments and work-related well-being.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative study of hospital-based physicians from multiple hospital types in Los Angeles and Miami who cared for COVID-19 patients. Semistructured interviews lasting 60-90 min were conducted over Zoom. Interview transcripts were thematically coded using Dedoose qualitative software.

RESULTS

The final sample of 66 physicians worked in 20 hospitals. Stressors in the social, political, and economic environment included dealing with the politicization of COVID-19, including vaccine hesitancy; state and federal governmental COVID-19 policies and messaging; and shifting CDC guidance. Employment and labor pattern stressors included the national nursing shortage, different policies for paid time off, furloughs, reduced pay, and layoffs. Organizational-level stressors included institutional policies, staffing constraints and high patient volume (i.e., increased number of cases and longer lengths of stay), and perceived poor leadership. At the individual worker level, stressors included concerns about viral transmission to family, strained personal relationships, and work-life fit, particularly for those with young children. Respondents identified promising protective factors at multiple levels, including responsive state leadership, job security, concrete opportunities to provide input into institutional policy, strong leadership and communication, and feeling cared for by one's institution.

CONCLUSION

Findings support a multi-level strategy that acknowledges internal organizational and external factors shaping clinicians' work-related well-being, consistent with the Total Worker Health® approach.

The Affective Domain, Safety Attitude, and COVID-19 Prevention of Employees in the Petrochemical Industry

The petrochemical industry is relatively strict regarding safety rules in the workplace. The workplace involves high-risk categories that are intolerant of human error. Especially in the current situation with COVID-19, concerns regarding prevention and safety in the workplace have increased. In light of this pandemic, the company must know whether all employees recognize the implementation of COVID-19 prevention. In addition, employee awareness of safety grounded in the affective domain of human thought is lacking. This study investigates the safety attitudes and COVID-19 prevention in the workplace based on the affective domain of employees. A survey questionnaire based on the Likert scale was utilized to collect data from 618 employees in the petrochemical industry. Descriptive analysis and analysis of variance were used to examine the data. The results reveal that employees in the petrochemical industry have a positive degree of responses to COVID-19 prevention, safety attitudes, and the affective domain, regardless of employment characteristics such as gender, age, position, and work experience. This study concludes that a positive affective domain of employees is followed by a positive safety attitude; thus, effective COVID-19 prevention was established in the workplace based on the perspectives and attitudes of the employees.