Abstract
BackgroundIt can be suspected that work in child care facilities is associated with an elevated exposure risk towards SARS-CoV-2 infections. It is still unclear under which conditions employees in those facilities can safely pursue their work. Preventive workplace-related measures to reduce transmission dynamics in this work environment need to be developed. These measures need to build on a solid scientific foundation and be ready for practical use at the same time. Therefore, the aim of the study is to present a participatory approach to identify, minimize, and eliminate workplace-specific COVID-19 transmission within child care. The approach presented combines quantitative as well as qualitative elements and includes a screening of critical workplace conditions and the development of preventive measures to foster a safe workplace design.MethodsFirst, 428 employees of different child care facilities in a large German city reported their subjective risk of infection, fear of infection, and support received by the employer. Second, the participants commented in detail about high risk conditions during work. Third, employees provided suggestions for preventive measures. We conducted a qualitative analysis of free text answers to evaluate which aspects are perceived as critical from an employee perspective.ResultsParticipants provided valuable and practicable ideas on how to design and improve preventive measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission in child care dealing with structural conditions, the interaction with the parents, the implementation of preventive measures and recommendations for policy makers.ConclusionsThese new insights help to organize pandemic risk management in order to align theoretical based measures with the practical realization. We encourage researchers to adapt the approach presented to other work areas in order to foster participation of employees in work design to reduce COVID-19 transmission.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become one major global challenge for modern society
We focus on workplace stressors arising from the current COVID-19 situation and examine preventive measures to reduce the psychological burden
Our approach is located in this information process and displays perceptions as well as recommendations given by the employees of child care facilities, who had to put these preventive measures in practice and work under adjusted working conditions
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become one major global challenge for modern society. It can be suspected that work in child care facilities is associated with an elevated exposure risk towards SARS-CoV-2 infections It is still unclear under which conditions employees in those facilities can safely pursue their work. Preventive workplace-related measures to reduce transmission dynamics in this work environment need to be developed. In Germany, children have the possibility to attend kindergarten and day care facilities until school enrollment (on an average 5 years) Employers of these facilities are accountable for occupational health and workplace safety activities. During the first wave of the pandemic in early 2020, employers received instructions and guidelines on how to re-design child care from their corresponding Federal State Ministry for Family Affairs This information, was only partly evidencebased and implementation was difficult because of the general nature of advises for safety measures. Our approach is located in this information process and displays perceptions as well as recommendations given by the employees of child care facilities, who had to put these preventive measures in practice and work under adjusted working conditions
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