Following Guidelines During a Crisis

The guidance states, "These preventative measures can include steps to prepare personnel such as: * "Educating employees on topics such as, in the case of a pandemic, personal hygiene (hand washing and coughing and sneezing etiquette), social distancing, and appropriate use of sick leave * "Encouraging employees to get immunized as appropriate by providing information on local vaccination services or by offering on-site vaccination services, if reasonable * "Providing information for and encouraging employees to develop family emergency preparedness plans * "Reviewing CGMP [current good manufacturing practice] regulations regarding appropriate sanitation practices and restriction of ill or sick employees from production areas (see 21 CFR [Code of Federal Regulations] 211.28)" (2). Examples include: * "Production equipment routine maintenance * "Utility system performance checks and maintenance (e.g., air temperature, lighting, compressed air) * "Environmental monitoring of facilities such as cell culture, harvesting, and purification rooms during production * "Stability testing for certain drug products and components * "Periodic examinations of data and of reserve samples" (2). EMA, Guidance on the Format of the Risk Management Plan (RMP) in the EU-in Integrated Format, EMA/164014/2018 Rev.2.0.1 accompanying GVP Module V Rev.2 Human Medicines Evaluation (EMA, 31 October 2018).

Optimising students' participation during emergency remote teaching in the Covid-19 pandemic

This study examined issues related to students' participation and online absenteeism among students at Zimbabwe's universities during COVID-19 induced online teaching and learning. More specifically, the study examined some of the ethical issues related to students' participation and assessment during online learning in selected universities in Zimbabwe. The study also examined some of the strategies that can be adopted to optimize students' participation during online learning to make online learning a more honest and interactive endeavour. To fully understand the challenges related to participation and online absenteeism, the study extrapolated the perspectives of students and academic staff who had adopted online learning since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was a mixed-methods study, employing a descriptive-analytical approach which utilised three main methods of data collection. Firstly, semi-structured questionnaires distributed electronically among participants in the selected universities were used to collect research data. Secondly, follow-up online focus-group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to elicit participants' views on some of the ethical challenges posed by online learning and possible strategies for dealing with the challenges. Finally, follow-up telephone interviews were also conducted with lecturers with the same objective as the FGDs. The study's population consisted of 110 students and 77 academic staff randomly selected from six universities in Zimbabwe. Two of the selected universities were privately owned and four were public universities. The study showed some of the technological and pedagogical issues regarding students' participation and strategies for optimising students' participation during online learning. The study also shared some of the ethical challenges that arose from the adoption of online teaching and assessment systems and the policy, resource and training interventions needed to make online learning more interactive, while at the same time safeguarding academic integrity. The findings of this study, therefore, have implications for universities, learners and academic staff if online learning programmes are to be successful. Firstly, universities for instance, need to ensure that students and academic staff have the prerequisite technological resources to ensure that optimal active learning takes place. Secondly, to address the shortage of resources, universities should ensure that their libraries migrate from physical to digital libraries. Universities should also ensure that both academic staff and students receive the necessary training to access these digital libraries and the services they offer.

Persistent Work Limitations in Long COVID: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Employed US Respondents to the 2022 National Health and Wellness Survey

Objectives: Many Americans experience continued symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to people who leave the workforce after experiencing COVID, those who remain employed may experience loss of productivity from short-term absences (absenteeism) and reduced productivity while working (presenteeism). We examined reported losses of work productivity among adults who reported physician-identified Long COVID. Method(s): We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of data from National Health and Wellness Survey (May-Aug 2022) respondents. We included employed adults who reported having experienced COVID in the past (no date specified), said their physician identified them as having Long COVID or COVID syndrome, and reported symptoms at the time of survey. Respondents were stratified by their magnitude of activity limitations reported on the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire;we describe responses for the lowest (LT) and highest tertiles (HT). Work productivity (absenteeism, presenteeism, overall work limitations from either absenteeism or presenteeism), and mental health (anxiety via General Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire, depression via Patient Health Questionnaire-9), were compared across tertiles. Result(s): Among 1036 Long COVID respondents meeting inclusion criteria, presenteeism ranged from 24.2% of LT respondents (n=291) to 92.8% of HT respondents (n=304), and absenteeism ranged from 12.7% (LT respondents) to 47.3% (HT respondents). Almost all (99.7%) HT respondents reported their overall work productivity was reduced by 50% or more while 26.7% of LT respondents reported the same. The prevalence of moderate-to-severe depression (92.4% vs. 37.8%) and moderate-to-severe anxiety (84.2% vs. 26.1%) was higher among HT relative to LT (all p<.001). Conclusion(s): Adults with Long COVID exhibit substantial heterogeneity in activity limitations;however, work limitations were substantial in all groups. Our results suggest significant economic impacts of Long COVID through lower productivity among those who remain employed. Further work with a comparison group is important to understand Long COVID-related work impairments, limitations, and disability.Copyright © 2023

Resuming Operations During a Pandemic

FDA therefore requests that, "A drug manufacturer whose manufacturing operations have been disrupted by the COVID-19 public health emergency should follow an established plan, which includes returning to normal CGMP operations, with consideration given to when there is a reasonable expectation that normal operations will be maintainable for an extended period of time" [emphasis added by author] (1). FDA requests that in these circumstances drug manufacturers perform the following (1): * Identify these deviations and any necessary remediation actions. * Evaluate these actions as part of their risk management approach. * Prioritize resumption activities based on the results of the evaluation. [...]activities include, for example, critical quality attribute testing, investigations of critical deviations, and evaluation of unapproved changes to critical operations or materials.

Implications of Atopic Dermatitis on the Quality of Life of 6-11 Years Old Children and Caregivers (PEDI-BURDEN).

Purpose: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, relapsing and remitting inflammatory skin disease characterized by intense itch. The disease burden includes physical limitations, psychosocial discomfort, and a reduced quality of life (HRQoL). This study presents the results of a parent-reported survey on the psychosocial impact of AD on Italian pre-adolescent children (6-11 years old), with a specific focus on bullying, self-isolation, absenteeism, and presenteeism. Methods: An online questionnaire was sent to 3067 random recipients and 160 matched the inclusion criteria for age, self-reported AD diagnosis, localizations (according to ISAAC), and disease severity (POEM ≥8). 100 children, with comparable ages, not matching the inclusion criteria for AD, were recruited as a control group. Results: Children with AD and their caregivers had a significantly lower quality of sleep (QoS) compared to the control group. The presence of AD was directly responsible for many restless nights, both in children and caregivers (58.9 and 55.4 respectively). Children with AD and their parents also experienced significantly more daytime drowsiness (43.6 and 54.6 days, respectively). Children with AD were more frequently victims of bullying at school (20.0% vs 9.0%; p≤0.05) or in other social environments (16.9% vs 3.0%; p≤0.05). AD caused 17.7 days of absenteeism and 20.1 days of presenteeism per student over the previous 12 months, accounting for 37.8 days of study impairment overall. Severe/very severe AD had a significantly greater impact on presenteeism than moderate AD (25.1 vs 17.5 days; p≤0.05). Presenteeism, which was more pronounced among bullied students, was positively correlated with absenteeism only in the AD cohort. Conclusion: AD has a detrimental impact on the HRQoL of pediatric patients, causing stigmatization and social isolation. Functional distress was also reported by caregivers. Our study might inform the public and policymakers about the disease burden of AD at a young age.

Post-COVID Challenges in Occupational Medicine as a Branch of Clinical and Educational Medicine

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has exhausted the employees of hospital center and had a negative impact on medical students. AIM: The aims are to show the efforts of Occupational Medicine to provide support for healthcare workers and to increase student's interest in O.M. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Out of the total number of employees of the Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, which is 3500, 275 of them claim for recognition of COVID-19 occupational diseases in 2022. The 6th-year medical students of the Rijeka Faculty of Medicine, 130 in total and 22 sanitary engineers were surveyed by the quality service regarding their satisfaction with the Occupational Medicine classes. Statsoft Statistica 10 was used to calculate the results. RESULT(S): All HCW are recognized as having COVID-19 as a professional disease. Older age correlated with greater absenteeism. Hospital employees are dissatisfied, tired, they demand work benefits, contraindications for shift work, night work, work in COVID centers, and requesting maternity leave. Many also quit their jobs the hospital management is looking for and hiring new employees, who quickly leave due to difficult working conditions and low incomes. Occupational medicine also has a problem with students. During the pandemic, classes were held online. Interest in classes declined, a small number of students joined the lectures, but all responded to the survey. The answers showed a lack of interest in the Occupational Medicine course. With subsiding of the pandemic, it would be obligatory to continue "live" classes, take students on a tour of industrial facilities, and cancel the failed evaluation of teachers. CONCLUSION(S): Easing of working conditions for HCW and changes in teaching is necessary.Copyright © 2023, Scientific Foundation SPIROSKI. All rights reserved.

ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM

Schools should focus on the following key areas: 1 Mental health staff Staffing schools with mental health specialists, including psychologists and licensed independent clinical social workers, will be helpful. Increased training is also important for school-based health center staff who have access to consultative support from mental health professionals. 2Telehealth The COVID-19 pandemic hastened the expansion of telehealth services, particularly in the area of mental health. Pediatricians should ask families whether any changes in behaviors or development should be supported by services outside of school. 4 Cross-sector partnerships The United Health Foundation is supporting an innovative partnership at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC, between a pediatric primary care medical home, pediatric mobile medical services, schools, early childhood development centers, and other community organizations.7 School absenteeism can be an early markerfor children's untreated medical and behavioral issues as well as family stressors.

A Multi-component Intervention (NEXpro) Reduces Neck Pain-Related Work Productivity Loss: A Randomized Controlled Trial Among Swiss Office Workers.

Purpose Neck pain is common among office workers and leads to work productivity loss. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a multi-component intervention on neck pain-related work productivity loss among Swiss office workers. Methods Office workers, aged 18-65 years, and without serious neck-related health problems were recruited from two organisations for our stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial. The 12-week multi-component intervention included neck exercises, health-promotion information, and workplace ergonomics. The primary outcome of neck pain-related work productivity loss was measured using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire and expressed as percentages of working time. In addition, we reported the weekly monetary value of neck pain-related work productivity loss. Data was analysed on an intention-to-treat basis using a generalized linear mixed-effects model. Results Data from 120 participants were analysed with 517 observations. At baseline, the mean age was 43.7 years (SD 9.8 years), 71.7% of participants were female (N = 86), about 80% (N = 95) reported mild to moderate neck pain, and neck pain-related work productivity loss was 12% of working time (absenteeism: 1.2%, presenteeism: 10.8%). We found an effect of our multi-component intervention on neck pain-related work productivity loss, with a marginal predicted mean reduction of 2.8 percentage points (b = -0.27; 95% CI: -0.54 to -0.001, p = 0.049). Weekly saved costs were Swiss Francs 27.40 per participant. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence for the effectiveness of a multi-component intervention to reduce neck pain-related work productivity loss with implications for employers, employees, and policy makers.Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04169646. Registered 15 November 2019-Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04169646 .

Cost-Effectiveness of Workplace Covid-19 Self-Testing: A Mathematical Modeling Study

Background: As COVID-19 cases persist, one potential intervention to reduce absenteeism in the workplace due to COVID-19 is to use rapid antigen diagnostics to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, routine testing in the workplace offers an avenue to reaching a large proportion of the population which could lead to a greater community impact beyond solely mitigating transmission events that occur in the workplace. We sought to identify the most cost-effective workplace testing strategies at the community level and within individual workplaces. Method(s): We used two models to understand how SARS-CoV-2 AgRDTs could best be implemented within the workplace to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. In our community-level dynamic transmission model, PATAT, we evaluated the impact of symptomatic testing and asymptomatic testing of a fixed proportion of the formally employed workforce on broader community transmission. We stratified runs by asymptomatic testing frequency, vaccine coverage, vaccine effectiveness, and Rt. Simulations were informed using demographic data from Georgia, Brazil, and the Netherlands. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis using the results from each country and assumed a $2.50 total cost per test. Result(s): We observed a substantial decrease in the number of infections occurring in both the workplace and community when a SARS-CoV-2 AgRDTs strategy was implemented. Under all conditions, mandatory symptomatic testing and related quarantine from the workplace averted up to 72%, 79%, and 74% of community infections in Brazil, Georgia, and the Netherlands respectively. Limiting tests to symptomatic workers was always on the cost-effectiveness frontier, regardless of the vaccine coverage, efficacy, or Rt of the virus (Figure 1), at $2-$4 per workplace infection prevented. While asymptomatic testing was on the cost-effectiveness frontier, it would cost an additional $500-$6700 to prevent one additional workplace infection. The added benefit of routine asymptomatic testing was minimal until 100% of the workforce was reached. Conclusion(s): We found self-testing with AgRDTs for the formally employed workforce is both efficient at reducing workplace and community infections as well as cost-effective when targeting symptomatic individuals. Willingness to pay to avoid workplace absenteeism may differ by country, individual workplaces, and the perceived economic value of several workdays missed. If there is a higher willingness to pay, routine asymptomatic screening may be considered.

Predictors of 1-Year Perceived Recovery, Absenteeism, and Expenses Due to Low Back Pain in Workers Receiving Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy: A Prospective Cohort Study.

This multicenter prospective cohort study aimed to preliminarily explore statistically relevant modifiable and predetermined factors for 1-year perceived recovery, absenteeism, and personal expenses in workers who received Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) for low back pain (LBP). Three stepwise multiple regression models were explored with 42 independent variables, including (1) socio-demographic factors; (2) risk stratification; (3) pain-related variables, psychological variables, and behavioral variables at baseline and changes after a month; (4) therapeutic alliance and exercise adherence at 1-month follow-up; and (5) MDT classification and therapist levels. Data from 58 participants were analyzed, after which a model with a medium effect size was developed for 1-year perceived recovery only. Consequently, patients with derangement syndrome were expected to have improved 1-year perceived recovery, with expected predetermined prognostic factors including shorter symptom duration, self-management skills to lead a healthy life, and less pain catastrophization at baseline. A stronger therapeutic alliance between patient and therapist during the 1-month MDT intervention was identified as an expected modifiable prognostic factor. It may be difficult to accurately predict the annual absenteeism and personal expenses due to LBP given the weak to low effect sizes of the developed models.

Challenges of distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Educational experiences in Poland in relation to Belgium, France, Greece from the perspective of the KEEP project

The COVID-19 pandemic and organisational changes in education, such as periodic school closings, the introduction of distance learning, and the introduction of hybrid learning, shook the education systems in many countries around the world. During this crisis, society needed time to introduce changes and adapt to them, along with rebuilding the self-confidence of teachers and students. This article presents 4 challenges faced by the education sector in the pandemic: 1) How to ensure appropriate conditions for distance learning? 2) How to prevent school absenteeism and keep children and teenagers motivated to learn remotely? 3) How to maintain learning levels and monitor educational losses? 4) What remedial programmes to introduce? These challenges are discussed in the context of the experience of the Polish education system from the perspective of data collected in 4 European countries (Belgium, France, Greece, and Poland) while implementing the KEEP project under the Erasmus+ programme, which focuses on methods of keeping secondary school students engaged in the learning process by using digital practices and tools tested during the pandemic. The project is also expected to result in supporting teachers' professional development and developing their digital pedagogical competencies.

University student absenteeism to virtual classes. A case study of two different careers from the University of Concepcion, Chile

Social distancing due to COVID-19 pandemic sharply transferred face-to-face teaching to online modality in all universities in the country. Observing this scenario as particularly favorable to encourage absenteeism to classes, this study objective is to unveil the reasons that students have to miss online synchronic lectures. Students' answers from two different faculties of the University of Concepcion were analyzed with logistic regression model and Mann-Whitney U-test. We found that among students who reported missing synchronic online lectures most frequently, the reasons were internet connection problems;the possibility to access the lecture video asynchronously;lack of motivation in their studies or laziness. A significant correlation was also found between missing classes and teachers' reading their presentations in class or not being inspiring. © 2023, Estudios Pedagógicos. All Rights Reserved. El distanciamiento social obligado por la pandemia de COVID-19 transfirió abruptamente la enseñanza presencial a modalidad online en todas las universidades del país. Observando que este escenario genera incentivos adicionales para el absentismo estudiantil, se desarrolla este trabajo con el objetivo de aproximar las razones que llevan a los estudiantes a faltar a clases virtuales sincrónicas. Se utiliza un modelo de regresión logística ordinal, correlaciones y el test U de Mann-Whitney para analizar una muestra de dos carreras de la Universidad de Concepción. Se concluye que aquellos estudiantes que faltan con mayor frecuencia a clases virtuales lo hacen porque: tienen problemas de conexión, las clases quedan grabadas y pueden verlas en otro momento, no están motivados con sus estudios o les da flojera conectarse. Así también, se encontró asociación significativa, en faltar porque el docente es aburrido y que lea sus presentaciones o no los motive. © 2023, Estudios Pedagógicos. All Rights Reserved.

Mitigating the Negative Impacts of Job-Related Stress: Certified Public Accountant

Work-related stress has intensified for those in public accounting in recent years due to a multitude of factors, including increased reporting and compliance requirements, public concern over financial accounting scandals, a shortage of entry-level accountants, and of course the disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals experiencing overload feel that they have too many responsibilities or activities expected of them to complete given available time, abilities, and other constraints (J.R. Rizzo, R.J. House, and S.I. Lirtzman, "Role Conflict and Ambiguity in Complex Organizations," Administrative Science Quarterly, pp. 150-163, 1970). A known presence of ambiguity should lead firm management to improve poor channels of communication, and to provide clearer guidance in the form of performance criteria, methods, and job descriptions. In its Core Competency Framework for Entry into the Accounting Profession, the AICPA emphasizes the importance of leadership skills, including the ability to motivate others, facilitate the development of consensus, and chair teams (https://bit.ly/4143V25, 2018).

Empty Streets

This visual essay invites renewed reflection on the iconography of the people. In the spring of 2020, Guatemala's President Alejandro Giammattei prohibited citizens from leaving their homes to help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus known as Covid-19. Doing little to manage the spread of the virus, these curfew events gave new aesthetic and political meaning to a familiar visual genre: photographs of empty streets. For more than a century, and especially in the summer of 2020, images of crowds and mass protests have provided both governments on the one hand, and protesting multitudes on the other with an aesthetic representation of the people. But this interest in collective assemblies has tended to engage only one side of the equation. To fully appreciate the visual power of the people, it is also necessary to understand those images from which people are strikingly absent.

Work productivity and activity limitation in healthcare workers after COVID-19 infection

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the physical and psychological health of the people affected. However, this impact has been more significant for health care workers who were on the front line of the management of this health crisis. Objective(s): To evaluate the work productivity and the limitation of activities of healthcare workers in post-COVID- 19. Method(s): A Cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare workers practicing at the Sahloul University Hospital in Sousse-Tunisia, diagnosed with COVID-19 during a 3-month period. Work productivity and activity limitation were assessed 3 months after infection by the French version of the WPAI questionnaire. Result(s): A total of 188 affected healthcare workers completed the questionnaire (sex ratio = 0.34;mean age = 41 years). Paramedical staff represented 63.1% of respondents. 28.6% worked in the emergency and intensive care units. More than half of the affected workers (52, 4%) had retained physical symptoms 3 months after covid 19 infection. The average percentage of absenteeism was 5.48% and presenteeism was 23.04%. Activity limitation was 26.84%. Work productivity was correlated with age (p = 0.015), presence of pathological history (p = 0.043), and presence of post-covid- 19 physical symptoms (p = 0.007). Conclusion(s): Covid-19 appears to have an impact on work productivity in some healthcare workers.

Sick Leave Due to Ear Diagnoses, a Nationwide Representative Registry of Mexico.

Sickness absence from work is a measure of both poor health and social functioning. In order to assess the frequency of sick leave due to ear-related diagnoses, we performed a retrospective analysis on the registry of paid sick leave certificates supplied by the main social security institution in Mexico during the years 2018 and 2019, just prior to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We observed that, in the two years, 22,053 sick leave certificates due to ear-related diagnoses were provided to 18,033 workers. The most frequent ear-related diagnoses were those of vestibular disorders (94.64%); among them, the most common diagnosis was Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (75.16%), followed by Labrynthitis and Meniere's disease (circa 8% each). A total of 4.63% of the diagnoses were related to external and middle ear disorders, and 0.71% were mainly related to hearing. Consistently, the highest cumulative days of sick leave required were given for the group of diagnoses related to vestibular disorders; although the less frequent diagnoses required the highest cumulative days per case (e.g., ototoxicity). During 2018 and 2019, the most frequent diagnoses of ear-related sick leave were due to vestibular diagnoses (particularly Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo).

The Psychosocial Model of Absenteeism: Transition from 4.0 to 5.0.

The research provides insight into the factors that determine absenteeism in different types of organizations, in order to facilitate the adjustment of employees and organizations in the transition process from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0. The aim of the study is to predict the absenteeism of employees in the context of job characteristics and mental health. Additionally, the research investigated the effect of size, ownership, and sector of the companies on absenteeism, job characteristics, and mental health. The sample included responses from 502 employees of different sociodemographic characteristics that work in various types of organizations, performing white-collar and blue-collar jobs. A short mental health questionnaire-Mental Health Inventory, MHI-5-was used in order to measure mental health. The Job Characteristics Questionnaire was used to measure the employees' perceptions of their job characteristics-job variety, autonomy, feedback, dealing with others, task identity, and friendship. The absenteeism is operationalized with the question: "During the past 12 months, how many days were you absent from work for any reason?". The findings suggest that mental health and job characteristics significantly reduce absenteeism among different sectors. The result showed that the size, ownership, and sector of the organization significantly affect the absenteeism, job characteristics, and the mental health of the employees. The results support the premises of Industry 5.0 and offer a new human-centric approach to absenteeism through the promotion of mental health through long-term organizational strategies and a more inclusive approach to employees' preferences in relation to job characteristics. The study offers a new, double-sided model of absenteeism, determining causal factors from the perspective of personal and organizational factors.

School climate and culture impact on middle school students and their attendance

Numerous studies have been conducted on the impact school climate and culture has on student achievement, but little has been studied on how climate and culture impacts student attendance. This study focuses specifically on the teacher-student relationship, parent engagement, and school safety and how these three areas of emphasis affect student attendance. When students feel disconnected, parents are unengaged, and safety concerns are present within the school setting, attendance barriers are created for students. This mixed-methods explanatory approach provided researchers the opportunity to survey all middle school students and interview 10 individual students per grade level for further investigation into what barriers are present at Rural #0535 Middle School. Although the results from the student body were generally favorable, there were pockets of concern in each of the three areas that indicate the reasons why students are absent from school. With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as chronic absenteeism, school leaders must identify ways to address the concerns identified within the investigations. Once identified, school administrators can begin to eliminate the obstacles that are hindering students from attending school. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Risk factors for pandemic-related workplace absenteeism among health care workers and the impact of vaccination

Background: Staff absences due to illness or quarantine as result of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic or vaccinationrelated adverse events are known. We examined their numbers in health care workers (HCW) from pulmonary hospitals in Germany. Method(s): A study-specific online questionnaire was created to assess individual experiences and the impact of the pandemic. From December 1 to 23, 2022 staff from all occupational groups at 7 pulmonary hospitals were surveyed. Result(s): A total of 1136 HCW participated, 75% being female, 92.6% having received at least one vaccine dose at the time of the survey, 65.2% three, and 108 reporting a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of HCW with positive PCR test, 98% reported home quarantine, with a quarantine period of median (range) 14 (1-52) days, while of those without positive PCR test, 11.3% reported quarantine over 14 (1-25) days. In addition, 23.5% of HCW reported absences due to vaccination effects over 2 (1-21) days. Overall, 37% (n=420) of HCW reported pandemic-related absences (median 5 days), with 3523 cumulative days of absence from work, among them 2826 related to illness or quarantine, and 697 to vaccination effects. Independent risk factors for pandemic-related absences of more than 5 days included COVID-19 illness (p<0.001) and not having been vaccinated at the time of the interview (OR 2.6;95%CI: 1.2-5.6;p= 0.009). Sex, age, or working in direct patient care or risk areas were not relevant. Conclusion(s): In HCW from German pulmonary hospitals, the average total days of absenteeism from work related to SARS-CoV-2 were about 3 days per participant, and vaccination-associated absenteeism contributed about one fifth to this number.

Teaching interventions in occupational health and safety during COVID19 pandemic in a small exporter and processor company of hydrobiological products in Piura, Peru

IntroductionIn Peru there are many companies dedicated to fishing and exporting hydrobiological products that carry out their work informally. Most companies in this sector do not have occupational health and safety (OHS) systems. Accidents at work occur frequently but are not registered in the statistics of the Ministry of Labor. Workers also suffer from diseases such as musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory and skin infections, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Interventions of education and training workers and employers in OHS are becoming more important in small workplaces in developing countries as Peru, especially since the covid19 pandemic started. The purpose of the present study was to describe the implementation and its progressive improvement of teaching interventions during 3 years in a small exporter and processor company of hydrobiological products in Peru, including the covid19 pandemic, and to show its impact in the OHS system.Matherials & MethodsThe unit of this case report study was the indicators of teaching interventions as number of participants, professions, time working in OHS, education methods used and a knowledge assessment at the end of intervention. Besides, it was analyzed the impact of the intervention on the frequency of accidents and illnesses in workers, on absenteeism and the indicators of workers ‘health (such as frequency of diseases, workers under treatment, etc). The instrument used was Data collection sheet.ResultsDuring 3 years, the teaching intervention implemented included ‘In Person' and online sessions and tools. Some of the methods included Cases discussion, Role games, Performance-feedback, Video analysis and interactive games. The frequency of accidents was reduced in 20%. Absenteeism was reduced in 33%. Workers with diseases could follow medical exams and start their treatment.ConclusionTeaching interventions had goods results in OHS system reducing accidents and absenteeism at this small company and improving medical surveillance in workers.