Working: The Role of Occupational Epidemiology

Abstract The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has redemonstrated the importance of work as a determinant of health. During the pandemic, extant disparities were accentuated as the workforce was divided into the roughly 50% who could safely work from home and those who could not. With the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American Journal of Epidemiology 2022-01, Vol.191 (2), p.237-240
Main Authors: Eisen, Ellen A, Elser, Holly, Picciotto, Sally
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chronic illnesses
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
Employment
Epidemiologists
Epidemiology
Etiology
Humans
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S
Occupational Exposure
Occupational Health
Pandemics
Populations
Public Health
SARS-CoV-2
Social Determinants of Health
United States
Viral diseases
Workplace
Workplaces
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Summary:Abstract The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has redemonstrated the importance of work as a determinant of health. During the pandemic, extant disparities were accentuated as the workforce was divided into the roughly 50% who could safely work from home and those who could not. With the spotlight on work, one might wonder where all the occupational epidemiologists have gone. To answer, we point to diminished research support and more limited workplace access that have led many epidemiologists to shift away from a focus on workers toward other vulnerable populations. Here we build on the renewed interest in work as a driver of health and inequality during the pandemic to highlight contributions of occupational epidemiology to public health. We consider: 1) etiological studies of chronic disease based on employment records to define cohorts and reconstruct long-term exposure; 2) studies of hypothetical interventions that are particularly appropriate for evaluating potential regulations to reduce workplace exposures; and 3) studies of disparities that take advantage of work as a potential source of social stratification and economic opportunity. As we have learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, workplaces can become venues for public health messaging and delivering interventions to enumerated populations of adults. By starting with COVID-19 prevention policies for the workplace, we have a chance to better protect public health.
ISSN:0002-9262
1476-6256
DOI:10.1093/aje/kwab243