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. 2022 Oct:29:101889.
doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101889. Epub 2022 Jul 9.

Essential and non-essential US workers' health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic

Molly A Martin  1 , Robert P Lennon  2 , Rachel A Smith  3 , Jessica G Myrick  4 , Meg L Small  5 , Lauren J Van Scoy  6 ; Data4Action Research Group
Affiliations

Essential and non-essential US workers' health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic

Molly A Martin et al. Prev Med Rep. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

We seek to quantify the relationship between health behaviors and work-related experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic by predicting health behaviors as a function of essential worker status, job loss, change in work hours, and COVID-19 experiences. We use multivariate models and survey data from 913 employed adults in a semi-rural mid-Atlantic US county, and test whether essential worker results vary by gender, parenthood, and/or university employment. Multivariate models indicate that essential workers used tobacco on more days (4.5; p <.01) and were less likely to sleep 8 h (odds ratio [OR] 0.6; p <.01) than non-essential workers. The risk of sleeping less than 8 h is concentrated among essential workers in the service industry (OR 0.5; p <.05) and non-parents (OR 0.5; p <.05). Feminine essential workers exercised on fewer days (-0.8; p <.05) than feminine non-essential workers. Workers with reduced work hours consumed more alcoholic drinks (0.3; p <.05), while workers with increased work hours consumed alcohol (0.3; p <.05) and exercised (0.6; p <.05) on more days. Essential worker status and changes in work hours are correlated with unhealthy behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Essential workers; FS, Family-focused survey; HCS, Health communication-focused survey; Health behaviors; Occupational health; PPE, personal protective equipment; Social determinants; h, hours.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Members of the Data4Action Research Group include leaders representing each internal Pennsylvania State University funding source. Those leaders participated in developing the project concept and methodologies and study design. They were not involved in analysis, interpretation of the data, initial writing, or the decision to submit the report for publication

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Coefficient estimates and their 95th percentile confidence intervals from multivariate models predicting health behaviors by type of essential worker. * For consistency across models, we present coefficient estimates. Sleeping 8 or more hours is predicted using a logistic regression model. The odd ratios (OR) for each essential worker category and their 95% confidence intervals are as follows: Service OR = 0.57 [ 0.36 – 0.89], Healthcare OR = 0.80 [0.47 – 1.37], and Other OR = 0.63 [0.40 – 1.00].
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Coefficient estimates and their 95th percentile confidence intervals for essential workers status across different social groups from statistically significant stratified multivariate models predicting health behaviors. * For consistency across models, we present coefficient estimates. Sleeping 8 or more hours is predicted using a logistic regression model. The odd ratios (OR) for each parent category and their 95% confidence intervals are as follows: Essential worker with no co-residential children OR = 0.48 [0.31 – 0.72] and essential worker with co-residential children OR = 0.91 [0.56 – 1.47].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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