Morbimortality profile by COVID-19 in telework and on-site work in an oil and gas company in Brazil

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Emerick, Giselly Storch^{a; *} | Zandonade, Eliana^a | Prado, Camila Bruneli do^b | Pires, Luciana Bicalho Cevolani^c | Bezerra, Ol&ıvia Maria de Paula Alves^d | Salaroli, Luciane Bresciani^a

Affiliations: [a] Graduate Program in Public Health, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil | [b] Research Group on Epidemiology Health and Nutrition, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil | [c] Graduate Program in Nutrition and Health, Health Sciences Center at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), Vitória, Brazil | [d] Postgraduate Program in Family Health, Federal University of Ouro Preto, ProfSaúde/Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Giselly Storch Emerick, Graduate Program in Collective Health, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Av. Marechal Campos, 1468 –Maruípe, Zip Code: 29.043-900, Vitória, ES, Brazil. Tel.: +55 27 99841 4549; E-mail: giselly.emerick@edu.ufes.br; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7056-0159

Abstract: BACKGROUND: As a reflection of the health emergency caused by COVID-19, many countries adopted guidelines, which included activity restrictions. As a result, some companies maintained their activities with on-site work and telework. OBJECTIVE: Analyzing the morbidity and mortality profile due to COVID-19 of workers in telework and on-site work in an oil and gas company. METHODS: Cross-sectional, quantitative, and analytical study that included 8,394 workers diagnosed with COVID-19 at an oil and gas company in Brazil, from June 2020 to June 2021. The company’s Surveillance Program database was used as an information source. RESULTS: The total prevalence of cases was 21.7%. For teleworking and face-to-face workers, they were 20.7% and 23.3%, respectively. There was a predominance of women (19.7%), white ethnicity/colour (64.7%), higher level position (52.6%), age group over 40 years (36.7%), married (53, 8%), working at the company for a period that ranges from 7 to 10 years (17%), administrative activity (68.5%), and a higher number of symptomatic workers and deaths in telework compared to on-site work. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that testing is important to refrain the virus spread in the company’s work environments, as it allowed asymptomatic workers to be diagnosed with COVID-19. The study suggested that on-site work was not a transmission facilitator in the occupational environment, which points out the importance of preventive measures in the workplace and the adoption of remote work for the largest possible number of workers to improve the safety of employees, workers who remained in the on-site work modality.

Keywords: COVID-19, occupational groups, oil and gas industry, teleworking, workplace, occupational health

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-230114

Journal: Work, vol. 78, no. 4, pp. 883-893, 2024