Occupational health, frontline workers and COVID-19 lockdown : new gender-related inequalities?
Utzet, Mireia (Parc Salut Mar)
Bacigalupe de la Hera, Amaia (Universidad del País Vasco)
Navarro Giné, Albert (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Grup Psychosocial risks, Organization of Work and Health (POWAH))

Date:	2022
Abstract:	The abrupt onset of COVID-19, with its rapid spread, has had brutal consequences in all areas of society, including the workplace. In this paper, we report the working conditions, health, and tranquilisers and opioid analgesics use of workers during the first months of the ensuing pandemic, according to whether they were frontline workers or not and also according to sex. Our analysis is based on cross-sectional survey data (collected during April and May 2020) from the wage-earning population in Spain (n=15 070). We estimate prevalences, adjusted prevalence differences and adjusted prevalence ratios by sex and according to whether the worker is a frontline worker or not. Employment and working conditions, exposure to psychosocial risks, as well as health status and the consumption of tranquilisers and opioid analgesics all showed sex and sectoral (frontline vs non-frontline) inequalities, which placed essential women workers in a particularly vulnerable position. Moreover, the consumption of tranquilisers and opioid analgesics increased during the pandemic and health worsened significantly among frontline women workers. The exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to revalue essential sectors and to dignify such employment and working conditions, especially among women. There is an urgent need to improve working conditions and reduce occupational risk, particularly among frontline workers. In addition, this study highlights the public health problem posed by tranquilisers and opioid analgesics consumption, especially among frontline women.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	COVID-19 ; Occupational health ; Mental health
Published in:	Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, february 2022, ISSN 1470-2738

DOI: 10.1136/jech-2021-217692
PMID: 35228295

7 p, 285.4 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Research group on Psychosocial Risks, Organization of Work, and Health (POWAH)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles