Central and Eastern European migrant worker status, co-living situation and SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission risk.
Publication year
2023Source
European Journal of Public Health, 33, 2, (2023), pp. 279-286ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor
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Organization
Primary and Community Care
IQ Healthcare
Radboudumc Extern
Journal title
European Journal of Public Health
Volume
vol. 33
Issue
iss. 2
Page start
p. 279
Page end
p. 286
Subject
Radboudumc 15: Urological cancers Primary and Community Care; Radboudumc 4: lnfectious Diseases and Global Health Primary and Community Care; Radboud University Medical CenterAbstract
BACKGROUND: Central and Eastern European (CEE) migrant workers in essential industries are at higher risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure and transmission. We investigated the relationship of CEE migrant status and co-living situation with indicators of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission risk (ETR), aiming to find entry points for policies to reduce health inequalities for migrant workers. METHODS: We included 563 SARS-CoV-2-positive workers between October 2020 and July 2021. Data on ETR indicators were obtained from source- and contact-tracing interviews via retrospective analysis of medical records. Associations of CEE migrant status and co-living situation with ETR indicators were analyzed using chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: CEE migrant status was not associated with occupational ETR but was with higher occupational-domestic exposure [odds ratio (OR) 2.92; P = 0.004], lower domestic exposure (OR 0.25, P < 0.001), lower community exposure (OR 0.41, P = 0.050) and transmission (OR 0.40, P = 0.032) and higher general transmission (OR 1.76, P = 0.004) risk. Co-living was not associated with occupational and community ETR but was with higher occupational-domestic exposure (OR 2.63, P = 0.032), higher domestic transmission (OR 17.12, P < 0.001) and lower general exposure (OR 0.34, P = 0.007) risk. CONCLUSIONS: The workfloor poses an equal SARS-CoV-2 ETR for all workers. CEE migrants encounter less ETR in their community but pose a general risk by delaying testing. When co-living, CEE migrants encounter more domestic ETR. Coronavirus disease preventive policies should aim at occupational safety for essential industry workers, reduction of test delay for CEE migrants and improvement of distancing options when co-living.
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- Academic publications [245050]
- Electronic publications [132309]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [93209]
- Open Access publications [105918]
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