Precarious employment and health in the context of COVID-19: a rapid scoping umbrella review.
Journal
European journal of public health
ISSN: 1464-360X
Titre abrégé: Eur J Public Health
Pays: England
ID NLM: 9204966
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
09 Nov 2021
09 Nov 2021
Historique:
entrez:
9
11
2021
pubmed:
10
11
2021
medline:
12
11
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
There are widespread concerns that workers in precarious employment have suffered the most in the COVID-19 pandemic and merit special attention. The aim of this rapid scoping umbrella review was to examine what evidence exists about how COVID-19 has affected the health of this highly vulnerable group, and what gaps remain to be investigated. Five databases were searched for systematic or scoping reviews from January 2020 to May 2021. The quality of the included reviews was determined using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews. We identified 6 reviews that reported 30 unique relevant primary studies. The included studies indicate that essential (non-health) workers are at greater risk of COVID-19 infection and case fatality than others in their surrounding community. The occupational risk of exposure to COVID-19 also seems to be greater among more precarious categories of workers, including younger workers and workers in low-income and low-skilled occupations. Further, hazardous working conditions faced by many essential workers appear to have amplified the pandemic, as several occupational sites became 'super-spreaders', due to an inability to socially distance at work and high contact rates among workers. Finally, employment and financial insecurity generated by the pandemic appears to be associated with negative mental health outcomes. The quality of the included reviews however, and their primary studies, were generally weak and many gaps remain in the evidence base. Our study highlights that COVID-19 is creating new health risks for precarious workers as well as exacerbating the pre-existing health risks of precarious employment.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
There are widespread concerns that workers in precarious employment have suffered the most in the COVID-19 pandemic and merit special attention. The aim of this rapid scoping umbrella review was to examine what evidence exists about how COVID-19 has affected the health of this highly vulnerable group, and what gaps remain to be investigated.
METHODS
METHODS
Five databases were searched for systematic or scoping reviews from January 2020 to May 2021. The quality of the included reviews was determined using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews.
RESULTS
RESULTS
We identified 6 reviews that reported 30 unique relevant primary studies. The included studies indicate that essential (non-health) workers are at greater risk of COVID-19 infection and case fatality than others in their surrounding community. The occupational risk of exposure to COVID-19 also seems to be greater among more precarious categories of workers, including younger workers and workers in low-income and low-skilled occupations. Further, hazardous working conditions faced by many essential workers appear to have amplified the pandemic, as several occupational sites became 'super-spreaders', due to an inability to socially distance at work and high contact rates among workers. Finally, employment and financial insecurity generated by the pandemic appears to be associated with negative mental health outcomes. The quality of the included reviews however, and their primary studies, were generally weak and many gaps remain in the evidence base.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
Our study highlights that COVID-19 is creating new health risks for precarious workers as well as exacerbating the pre-existing health risks of precarious employment.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34751369
pii: 6423465
doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckab159
pmc: PMC8576296
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Review
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
iv40-iv49Subventions
Organisme : Norwegian Research Council
Organisme : Trade, Labour Markets, and Health
ID : 274995
Informations de copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.
Références
Eur J Public Health. 2017 Feb 1;27(suppl_1):27-33
pubmed: 28355639
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2021 Jul;56(7):1147-1160
pubmed: 33866384
Scand J Work Environ Health. 2019 Sep 1;45(5):429-443
pubmed: 31165899
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 20;18(8):
pubmed: 33924026
J Occup Environ Hyg. 2021 Apr-May;18(4-5):154-158
pubmed: 33819137
Scand J Work Environ Health. 2020 May 1;46(3):235-247
pubmed: 31901944
BMJ. 2020 Apr 27;369:m1557
pubmed: 32341002
Res Synth Methods. 2018 Mar;9(1):116-123
pubmed: 29032590
Int J Health Serv. 2001;31(2):335-414
pubmed: 11407174
Lancet. 2020 May 30;395(10238):1678-1680
pubmed: 32401713
Arch Public Health. 2017 Mar 3;75:13
pubmed: 28270912
Annu Rev Public Health. 2014;35:229-53
pubmed: 24641559
Scand J Public Health. 2017 Feb;45(1):73-84
pubmed: 27885160
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 04;18(4):
pubmed: 33557075
BMJ. 2017 Sep 21;358:j4008
pubmed: 28935701
Am J Ind Med. 2021 Jul;64(7):551-566
pubmed: 34003502
Sangyo Eiseigaku Zasshi. 2011;53(4):117-39
pubmed: 21666349
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2021 Apr 20;107:110247
pubmed: 33476692