Background: The contact nature of rugby with its' intensive physical interaction often exposes pl... more Background: The contact nature of rugby with its' intensive physical interaction often exposes players to a high risk of injury and illness. Compliance with prescribed safety guidelines when returning to play during the COVID-19 pandemic is important for both rugby players and their support staff's health and wellbeing. However, elite rugby has an inherent level of risk acceptance that has been a cultural norm in the game for decades. This paper aims to identify risk factors that in uence players' awareness and actions in relation to the highly communicable disease COVID-19, and provide rugby clubs and associations with practical return to play solutions from a health and safety perspective. Methods: This study thematically analysed interviews with 15 senior rugby support staff employed in elite rugby union that explored key factors impacting health-and-safety in elite rugby. With the emphasis on rugby players' health-and-safety awareness (e.g. illness/injury reporting awareness) and rugby environment micromanagement (e.g. player hygiene) and rugby physical contact nature, analysing the factors that may be normalised in elite sporting settings in the context of managing return to play during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Due to physical contact nature of rugby, players are exposed to the risk of trauma resulting in skin abrasions and lacerations etc. which may aggregate the risk of infectious diseases. A level of micromanagement practices such as player hygiene management and health condition surveillance that builds on the current situation are effective and essential, considering rugby players in a high level of tness condition and at a relatively young age can be overly con dent with their ability to deal with the risk of illness. Furthermore, player awareness such as symptom reporting and return-to-play (RTP) after unwellness is due to improve for ensuring their health and wellbeing and of their fellow players as well as support staff during the back to eld process in the context of COVID-19. Conclusions: Returning to rugby practice and competition will require a level of micromanagement and player safety awareness education in order to achieve the goal of optimally protecting the players from potential illness and / or spreading it to fellow players and support staff. Rugby rituals such as the New Zealand haka could be considered for keeping social distance between players while a rming the rugby nature of aggression exhibition. Key Points A micromanagement approach in rugby organisation may achieve the goal of optimally protecting the players from potential injury and illness while returning to the eld during the pandemic. Elite rugby players are generally in a high level of tness condition at a relatively young age which may mislead the players to be overly con dent with their ability to deal with injury and illness risk. Rugby rituals such as the New Zealand haka could be considered for keeping social distance between players while a rming the rugby nature of aggression exhibition.
This document is part of a project conducted in partnership with the Transgender Equality Network... more This document is part of a project conducted in partnership with the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI), the National LGBT Federation of Ireland (NXF), and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Unit, with initial support from the Trinity College Dublin Equality Fund. The copyright remains with the authors, NXF, RCSI, and TENI. The sharing of this document for educational and non-profit purposes is encouraged (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This document was published in June 2020 and, as it may be subject to future updates, is Version 1.0.
between measurement time points. Conclusions: The first COVID-19 lockdown did not result in a dif... more between measurement time points. Conclusions: The first COVID-19 lockdown did not result in a difference of work stress conditions among our sample of Swiss office workers. Improved working times and work-life balance may have contributed to this finding. Key messages: Improved working times and work-life balance may have contributed to stable task-related stressors and resources in the early phase of the lockdown. Other, non-work-related environmental stressors should be investigated to explain COVID-19-related changes in mental and physical health.
Asylum Seeker A person who has left their home country and wishes to gain refugee status in anoth... more Asylum Seeker A person who has left their home country and wishes to gain refugee status in another country. Asexual Someone who is not sexually and may or may not be emotionally and romantically attracted to other people. Bisexual Someone who is sexually, emotionally and romantically attracted to people of more than one gender. Cisgender A term which describes individuals who experience and express their gender identity in ways which correspond to the biological sex they were assigned at birth. Direct Provision A system put in place by the Irish government to house and provide for the basic needs of asylum seekers while their case is being assessed. Gay A man or woman who is sexually, emotionally and romantically attracted to people of the same gender. Genderfluid/Genderqueer Someone who does not feel confined by the binary division of male and female. Gender Identity Someone's identification as male, female, or any other identity. This may or may not correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender Recognition Act Irish legislation which was enacted in 2015 to provide a process enabling transgender people to achieve full legal recognition of their preferred gender and to access a new birth certificate that reflects this change. Intersectionality An analytic framework that attempts to identify how interlocking systems of power and oppression impact those who are most marginalised in society. Lesbian A woman who is sexually, emotionally and romantically attracted to other women. LGBT An acronym for 'lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender'. Migrant Someone who has left their home country to live in another country. Minority Stress The chronically higher levels of stress faced by members of stigmatised minority groups compared to non-stigmatised groups. Pansexual Someone who is sexually, emotionally and romantically attracted to people of any sex or gender identity. Participatory Action Research An approach to research which involves researchers and participants working together to understand a problematic situation and change it for the better. POC An acronym short for person of colour. PrEP Pre-exposure prophylaxis. Medication used to prevent the contraction of HIV. Queer While historically queer has been used as an abusive term, some people have reclaimed the word and self-identify as ' queer'. For them, this reclamation is a celebration of not fitting into heteronormative norms or a radical stance that captures multiple aspects of identities. Sexual Orientation/Sexual Identity An enduring pattern of emotional, romantic or sexual attraction. It includes a wide range of attractions and terms, the most common being gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual and heterosexual.
International journal of occupational and environment safety, Apr 29, 2022
Evaluating safety and risk awareness in contact sports: development of a quantitative survey for ... more Evaluating safety and risk awareness in contact sports: development of a quantitative survey for elite rugby Chen et al.
Aquatic pollution by tributyltin (TBT) is of concern because of its high toxicity to marine life.... more Aquatic pollution by tributyltin (TBT) is of concern because of its high toxicity to marine life. TBT loadings of estuarine sediments may remain elevated because of long flushing times in estuaries due to their enclosed physicality. The Tolka Estuary, Co. Dublin, Ireland, is a typical Irish urban estuary. It has a significant pollution loading. The results of 12 months' analysis of TBT spatial and temporal distributions in this estuary are presented in this paper. Data from a total of 10 sample points are presented. The concentrations of TBT in the sediment were analysed using differential pulse polarography. Significant seasonal and spatial trends in TBT distribution were observed over the 12-month period. TBT concentrations ranged from 0.1 ppb in winter to 8.6 ppb in summer with a 1.5 ppb average. Organic matter (OM) concentrations of sediment exhibited similar seasonal trends and a positive correlation between OM and TBT distributions was observed.
are required to describe injury occurrence and inform injury prevention measures. Objective To an... more are required to describe injury occurrence and inform injury prevention measures. Objective To analyse injuries sustained by professional rugby union players in Scotland. Design Prospective observational. Setting Time-loss match injuries sustained in men's and women's international rugby, men's professional club rugby and men's and women's international sevens during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons were recorded by Scottish Rugby medical staff. Match exposure was recorded by GPS device and/or video analysis. Patients (or Participants) Across all cohorts, 208 players (men: 163; women: 45) participated during the 2017/18 and 2018/ 19 seasons (men's international n = 60; women's international n = 37; men's professional club n = 134; men's international sevens n = 29; women's international sevens n = 25). Several players represented multiple cohorts. Interventions (or assessment of Risk Factors) Injuries within and between cohorts were compared. Main Outcome Measures Injury incidence, severity, type and location.
Background: While access to healthcare has been a focus of international development, populations... more Background: While access to healthcare has been a focus of international development, populations around the world continue to lack proper access to care. Identifying at-risk demographic groups can help advance efforts both regionally and internationally. There are only a small number of studies that previously have assessed physical barriers and attitudes in Nepal. Methods: This study assessed the factors and attitudes associated with healthcare accessibility in a rural population outside of Lumbini, Nepal. This descriptive cross-sectional study used a volunteer-sampling approach to collect 585 questionnaire responses from the area formerly known as the Madhuwani Village Development Committee. Results: The study found that the population was more likely to access private care than public, and reported longer times to access a hospital than the national average. Across almost all findings, those with lower than a secondary education had significantly larger barriers, lower satisfaction and higher reported difficulty in accessing healthcare. Females were shown to have significantly larger transportation barriers in accessing care and lower satisfaction compared with males. Conclusions: Results identify women and the less-educated as having larger barriers to accessing healthcare. Further research should focus on how inequities in access affect health outcomes among these identified vulnerable groups.
Aquatic pollution by metals is of concern because of various toxic effects to marine life. The To... more Aquatic pollution by metals is of concern because of various toxic effects to marine life. The Tolka Estuary, Co. Dublin, Ireland, is a typical Irish urban estuary. It has a significant metal loading originating from the urban environment. Results of a 25 month analysis of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc spatial and temporal distribution over 10 sample locations in this estuary are presented in this paper. Metal concentrations were analysed using differential pulse polarography. Significant seasonal and spatial trends in metal distribution were observed over the 25 months. Sediment metal concentrations gradually increased (30-120%) in spring to a maximum at the end of summer which was followed by a decrease in winter months (30-60%). Sediment organic matter (OM) concentrations exhibited similar seasonal trends and a positive correlation between OM and metal distributions was observed, implying OM had an influence on metal distributions over time.
Determination of long-term spatial and seasonal distribution of contaminants in an urban river an... more Determination of long-term spatial and seasonal distribution of contaminants in an urban river and estuarine system using polarographic techniques.
Background: The contact nature of rugby with its' intensive physical interaction often exposes pl... more Background: The contact nature of rugby with its' intensive physical interaction often exposes players to a high risk of injury and illness. Compliance with prescribed safety guidelines when returning to play during the COVID-19 pandemic is important for both rugby players and their support staff's health and wellbeing. However, elite rugby has an inherent level of risk acceptance that has been a cultural norm in the game for decades. This paper aims to identify risk factors that in uence players' awareness and actions in relation to the highly communicable disease COVID-19, and provide rugby clubs and associations with practical return to play solutions from a health and safety perspective. Methods: This study thematically analysed interviews with 15 senior rugby support staff employed in elite rugby union that explored key factors impacting health-and-safety in elite rugby. With the emphasis on rugby players' health-and-safety awareness (e.g. illness/injury reporting awareness) and rugby environment micromanagement (e.g. player hygiene) and rugby physical contact nature, analysing the factors that may be normalised in elite sporting settings in the context of managing return to play during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Due to physical contact nature of rugby, players are exposed to the risk of trauma resulting in skin abrasions and lacerations etc. which may aggregate the risk of infectious diseases. A level of micromanagement practices such as player hygiene management and health condition surveillance that builds on the current situation are effective and essential, considering rugby players in a high level of tness condition and at a relatively young age can be overly con dent with their ability to deal with the risk of illness. Furthermore, player awareness such as symptom reporting and return-to-play (RTP) after unwellness is due to improve for ensuring their health and wellbeing and of their fellow players as well as support staff during the back to eld process in the context of COVID-19. Conclusions: Returning to rugby practice and competition will require a level of micromanagement and player safety awareness education in order to achieve the goal of optimally protecting the players from potential illness and / or spreading it to fellow players and support staff. Rugby rituals such as the New Zealand haka could be considered for keeping social distance between players while a rming the rugby nature of aggression exhibition. Key Points A micromanagement approach in rugby organisation may achieve the goal of optimally protecting the players from potential injury and illness while returning to the eld during the pandemic. Elite rugby players are generally in a high level of tness condition at a relatively young age which may mislead the players to be overly con dent with their ability to deal with injury and illness risk. Rugby rituals such as the New Zealand haka could be considered for keeping social distance between players while a rming the rugby nature of aggression exhibition.
This document is part of a project conducted in partnership with the Transgender Equality Network... more This document is part of a project conducted in partnership with the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI), the National LGBT Federation of Ireland (NXF), and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Unit, with initial support from the Trinity College Dublin Equality Fund. The copyright remains with the authors, NXF, RCSI, and TENI. The sharing of this document for educational and non-profit purposes is encouraged (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This document was published in June 2020 and, as it may be subject to future updates, is Version 1.0.
between measurement time points. Conclusions: The first COVID-19 lockdown did not result in a dif... more between measurement time points. Conclusions: The first COVID-19 lockdown did not result in a difference of work stress conditions among our sample of Swiss office workers. Improved working times and work-life balance may have contributed to this finding. Key messages: Improved working times and work-life balance may have contributed to stable task-related stressors and resources in the early phase of the lockdown. Other, non-work-related environmental stressors should be investigated to explain COVID-19-related changes in mental and physical health.
Asylum Seeker A person who has left their home country and wishes to gain refugee status in anoth... more Asylum Seeker A person who has left their home country and wishes to gain refugee status in another country. Asexual Someone who is not sexually and may or may not be emotionally and romantically attracted to other people. Bisexual Someone who is sexually, emotionally and romantically attracted to people of more than one gender. Cisgender A term which describes individuals who experience and express their gender identity in ways which correspond to the biological sex they were assigned at birth. Direct Provision A system put in place by the Irish government to house and provide for the basic needs of asylum seekers while their case is being assessed. Gay A man or woman who is sexually, emotionally and romantically attracted to people of the same gender. Genderfluid/Genderqueer Someone who does not feel confined by the binary division of male and female. Gender Identity Someone's identification as male, female, or any other identity. This may or may not correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender Recognition Act Irish legislation which was enacted in 2015 to provide a process enabling transgender people to achieve full legal recognition of their preferred gender and to access a new birth certificate that reflects this change. Intersectionality An analytic framework that attempts to identify how interlocking systems of power and oppression impact those who are most marginalised in society. Lesbian A woman who is sexually, emotionally and romantically attracted to other women. LGBT An acronym for 'lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender'. Migrant Someone who has left their home country to live in another country. Minority Stress The chronically higher levels of stress faced by members of stigmatised minority groups compared to non-stigmatised groups. Pansexual Someone who is sexually, emotionally and romantically attracted to people of any sex or gender identity. Participatory Action Research An approach to research which involves researchers and participants working together to understand a problematic situation and change it for the better. POC An acronym short for person of colour. PrEP Pre-exposure prophylaxis. Medication used to prevent the contraction of HIV. Queer While historically queer has been used as an abusive term, some people have reclaimed the word and self-identify as ' queer'. For them, this reclamation is a celebration of not fitting into heteronormative norms or a radical stance that captures multiple aspects of identities. Sexual Orientation/Sexual Identity An enduring pattern of emotional, romantic or sexual attraction. It includes a wide range of attractions and terms, the most common being gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual and heterosexual.
International journal of occupational and environment safety, Apr 29, 2022
Evaluating safety and risk awareness in contact sports: development of a quantitative survey for ... more Evaluating safety and risk awareness in contact sports: development of a quantitative survey for elite rugby Chen et al.
Aquatic pollution by tributyltin (TBT) is of concern because of its high toxicity to marine life.... more Aquatic pollution by tributyltin (TBT) is of concern because of its high toxicity to marine life. TBT loadings of estuarine sediments may remain elevated because of long flushing times in estuaries due to their enclosed physicality. The Tolka Estuary, Co. Dublin, Ireland, is a typical Irish urban estuary. It has a significant pollution loading. The results of 12 months' analysis of TBT spatial and temporal distributions in this estuary are presented in this paper. Data from a total of 10 sample points are presented. The concentrations of TBT in the sediment were analysed using differential pulse polarography. Significant seasonal and spatial trends in TBT distribution were observed over the 12-month period. TBT concentrations ranged from 0.1 ppb in winter to 8.6 ppb in summer with a 1.5 ppb average. Organic matter (OM) concentrations of sediment exhibited similar seasonal trends and a positive correlation between OM and TBT distributions was observed.
are required to describe injury occurrence and inform injury prevention measures. Objective To an... more are required to describe injury occurrence and inform injury prevention measures. Objective To analyse injuries sustained by professional rugby union players in Scotland. Design Prospective observational. Setting Time-loss match injuries sustained in men's and women's international rugby, men's professional club rugby and men's and women's international sevens during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons were recorded by Scottish Rugby medical staff. Match exposure was recorded by GPS device and/or video analysis. Patients (or Participants) Across all cohorts, 208 players (men: 163; women: 45) participated during the 2017/18 and 2018/ 19 seasons (men's international n = 60; women's international n = 37; men's professional club n = 134; men's international sevens n = 29; women's international sevens n = 25). Several players represented multiple cohorts. Interventions (or assessment of Risk Factors) Injuries within and between cohorts were compared. Main Outcome Measures Injury incidence, severity, type and location.
Background: While access to healthcare has been a focus of international development, populations... more Background: While access to healthcare has been a focus of international development, populations around the world continue to lack proper access to care. Identifying at-risk demographic groups can help advance efforts both regionally and internationally. There are only a small number of studies that previously have assessed physical barriers and attitudes in Nepal. Methods: This study assessed the factors and attitudes associated with healthcare accessibility in a rural population outside of Lumbini, Nepal. This descriptive cross-sectional study used a volunteer-sampling approach to collect 585 questionnaire responses from the area formerly known as the Madhuwani Village Development Committee. Results: The study found that the population was more likely to access private care than public, and reported longer times to access a hospital than the national average. Across almost all findings, those with lower than a secondary education had significantly larger barriers, lower satisfaction and higher reported difficulty in accessing healthcare. Females were shown to have significantly larger transportation barriers in accessing care and lower satisfaction compared with males. Conclusions: Results identify women and the less-educated as having larger barriers to accessing healthcare. Further research should focus on how inequities in access affect health outcomes among these identified vulnerable groups.
Aquatic pollution by metals is of concern because of various toxic effects to marine life. The To... more Aquatic pollution by metals is of concern because of various toxic effects to marine life. The Tolka Estuary, Co. Dublin, Ireland, is a typical Irish urban estuary. It has a significant metal loading originating from the urban environment. Results of a 25 month analysis of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc spatial and temporal distribution over 10 sample locations in this estuary are presented in this paper. Metal concentrations were analysed using differential pulse polarography. Significant seasonal and spatial trends in metal distribution were observed over the 25 months. Sediment metal concentrations gradually increased (30-120%) in spring to a maximum at the end of summer which was followed by a decrease in winter months (30-60%). Sediment organic matter (OM) concentrations exhibited similar seasonal trends and a positive correlation between OM and metal distributions was observed, implying OM had an influence on metal distributions over time.
Determination of long-term spatial and seasonal distribution of contaminants in an urban river an... more Determination of long-term spatial and seasonal distribution of contaminants in an urban river and estuarine system using polarographic techniques.
COVID-19 IN IRISH WORKPLACES AND COMMUNITIES - MODELLING OUTBREAKS FROM INFECTION DATA , 2022
During 2020-2021, the government of Ireland in line with international recommendations imposed th... more During 2020-2021, the government of Ireland in line with international recommendations imposed the closure of non-essential trades, services, and commerce. Food plant factories, meat processing plants among others were deemed essential and remained open. During that time, many workers were exposed to outbreaks in their workplaces. Some of the questions arising included if workers will adapt to new safety measures, if those measures could prevent and mitigate workplace outbreaks and , if an outbreak occur in a closed facility, if it will impact community transmission. The most vulnerable workplaces were typically front-line industries, with healthcare and food processing facilities among the hardest hit by Covid-19 infections. To complete the core aims, statistical models were developed for WP1. These models could accurately predict the scale of an outbreak in a meat processing plant based on the infection transmission in the community in the weeks preceding the outbreak and account for patterns in infection spread in both Ireland and worldwide using a ‘behavioural response’ mechanism. In addition to this, vaccine effectiveness was calculated using a method that made use of surveillance data. This demonstrated the strength and limitations of surveillance data. One clear aspect of behaviour in the COVID-19 pandemic has been people’s focus on, and response to, reported or observed infection numbers in their community. WP1 developed a simple model of infectious disease spread in a pandemic situation where people’s behaviour is influenced by the current risk of infection and where this behavioural response acts homeostatically to return infection risk to a certain preferred level. Analysis of worldwide COVID-19 data confirmed the model predictions at both an overall and an individual country level. Building on the findings of the infectious disease spread model, the research team aimed to investigate how individuals adapted their behaviours throughout the pandemic at an individual level, using the number of community cases and the number of contacts reported by cases to the contact-tracing program as a proxy for behavioural response. This work is ongoing at this time. In addition to this, estimations on vaccine effectiveness were calculated using a method that made use of surveillance data. This demonstrated the strength and limitations of surveillance data. There were significant challenges in completing WP1, primarily caused by a difficulty in accessing the required data, however, the primary aims and goals of the work package were achieved and a meaningful body of research was produced on disease spread in specific, controlled environments and among the general population.Our work will certainly inform future pandemics. The main messages are 1) that community transmission can predict the occurrence of outbreaks -suggesting that managers and Public Health officials should work together to reinforce surveillance during peaks of community transmission and 2) high risk settings -like meat factories- can reduce or mitigate outbreaks if they introduce timely protective measures.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had deleterious effects on the global population, including the employe... more The COVID-19 pandemic has had deleterious effects on the global population, including the employees who have had to frequently adapt their working style for the purpose of mitigating COVID-19 workplace transmission. It is important for the employers, OSH management and policymakers to understand how COVID-19 adaptation may have impacted on workplaces and workers’ health and wellbeing, along with experiences associated with mitigation measures such as newly introduced control measures, COVID-19 related communication strategies and behavioural apathy. This work package (WP2) as part of a larger SFI research grant that focuses on the impacts on organisations and their employees in Ireland from an OSH perspective using focus group interviews with OSH (Occupational Safety and Health) and/or HR (Human Resource) professionals who work closely with OSH counterparts as their experiences of working during the pandemic are considered invaluable for reflection on how Irish organisations managed during the pandemic as well as future planning. Based on the thematic analysis, the findings were reported from four perspectives: organisational preparedness and support; organisational impact from COVID-19; impact on workers from COVID-19; and the future of OSH in a post COVID-19 world. Since the data collected were richer than anticipated, an emergent theme ‘Worker Mental Health and How to Support’ has also been reported as an independent chapter. Additionally, a survey instrument was developed based on the findings of the focus groups, which can be used by OSH professionals to evaluate COVID-19 adaptation impact on workers in their respective organisation has been designed and validated and a user guide prepared. Overall, WP2 was conducted as optimally as possible given the limitations COVID19 placed on research and the goals for the work package have been achieved. Furthermore, WP2 also provided added value to the macro project, owing to the impressive amount of data collected which could be used for other aspects of the project.
The Toolkit for Impactful Lifelong Learning in the 21st Century "TILL21" is a resource guide that... more The Toolkit for Impactful Lifelong Learning in the 21st Century "TILL21" is a resource guide that focuses on academic advising and supporting mature and part-time students inspired by the principles of universal design in learning. The TILL21 team comprised of faculty, staff and students from the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science and the UCD EDI unit with input from UCD Access and Lifelong Learning. Through information, opinions and insights gathered from the literature and a series of focus groups with students, alumni and student advisors the toolkit provides an overview of resources and potential actions that can be utilised to develop relationships with mature and part-time learners, progress authentic teaching and inclusive assessment methods, and build mentoring potential for both academic journeys and professional career development.
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could prevent and mitigate workplace outbreaks and , if an outbreak occur in a closed facility, if it will impact community transmission. The most vulnerable workplaces were typically front-line industries, with healthcare and food processing facilities among the hardest hit by Covid-19 infections.
To complete the core aims, statistical models were developed for WP1. These models could accurately predict the scale of an outbreak in a meat processing plant based on the infection transmission in the community in the weeks preceding the outbreak and account for patterns in infection spread in both Ireland and worldwide using a ‘behavioural response’ mechanism. In addition to this, vaccine effectiveness was calculated using a method that made use of surveillance data. This demonstrated the strength and limitations of surveillance data.
One clear aspect of behaviour in the COVID-19 pandemic has been people’s focus on, and response to, reported or observed infection numbers in their community. WP1 developed a simple model of infectious disease spread in a pandemic situation where people’s behaviour is influenced by the current risk of infection and where this behavioural response acts homeostatically to return infection risk to a certain preferred level. Analysis of worldwide
COVID-19 data confirmed the model predictions at both an overall and an individual country level.
Building on the findings of the infectious disease spread model, the research team aimed to investigate how individuals adapted their behaviours throughout the pandemic at an individual level, using the number of community cases and the number of contacts reported by cases to the contact-tracing program as a proxy for behavioural response. This work is
ongoing at this time. In addition to this, estimations on vaccine effectiveness were calculated using a method that made use of surveillance data. This demonstrated the strength and limitations of surveillance data.
There were significant challenges in completing WP1, primarily caused by a difficulty in accessing the required data, however, the primary aims and goals of the work package were achieved and a meaningful body of research was produced on disease spread in specific, controlled environments and among the general population.Our work will certainly inform future pandemics. The main messages are 1) that community transmission can predict the
occurrence of outbreaks -suggesting that managers and Public Health officials should work together to reinforce surveillance during peaks of community transmission and 2) high risk settings -like meat factories- can reduce or mitigate outbreaks if they introduce timely protective measures.
Based on the thematic analysis, the findings were reported from four perspectives: organisational preparedness and support; organisational impact from COVID-19; impact on workers from COVID-19; and the future of OSH in a post COVID-19 world. Since the data collected were richer than anticipated, an emergent theme ‘Worker Mental Health and How to Support’ has also been reported as an independent chapter. Additionally, a survey instrument was developed based on the findings of the focus groups, which can be used by OSH professionals to evaluate COVID-19 adaptation impact on workers in their respective organisation has been designed and validated and a user guide prepared.
Overall, WP2 was conducted as optimally as possible given the limitations COVID19 placed on research and the goals for the work package have been achieved. Furthermore, WP2 also provided added value to the macro project, owing to the impressive amount of data collected which could be used for other aspects of the project.