COVID-19 pandemic influence on perceived exposure to chemical substances in Latvia: data from a focus group discussion and the HBM4EU citizen survey.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has globally influenced the exposure of populations to chemical substances through various channels. This study aims to evaluate the tendencies of the use of chemical products in Latvia amidst the pandemic. Answers from 597 respondents (26.6% male, 73.4% female, mean age 46.0 ± 12.2) which were gathered as part of the HBM4EU (Human Biomonitoring Initiative) citizen survey and 8 focus group participants were used. Methods: The study utilized data from the HBM4EU citizen survey and conducted focus group discussions to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on chemical product usage in Latvia. Survey responses were analyzed to identify changes in exposure to chemicals, particularly in relation to disinfection agents and household products. Results: More than two-thirds of survey participants reported increased exposure to chemicals during the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly related to the use of disinfection agents and household products. About 2-in-5 (39.8%) of survey respondents considered that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased their interest in exposure to chemicals. The excessive use of disinfectant products is the main concern of citizens (mentioned by 66.7%, n = 389). Also, two focus group participants noted that the use of disinfectant products is too widespread and should be minimized. Discussion: The findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has not only increased the use of chemical products in Latvia but also promoted an interest in safe and healthy use of chemicals which could be useful to raise the awareness of the general public.

Sickness Presenteeism among Employees Having Workplace Conflicts-Results from Pooled Analyses in Latvia.

The study's objective was to investigate the associations between workplace conflicts and self-reported sickness presenteeism defined as going to work while being ill. Cross-sectional survey data pooled from four national surveys in years 2006, 2010, 2013 and 2018 with a study sample of 6368 employees (mean age 42.9 years and 52.9% females) were used. Respondents were randomly drawn from different regions and industries; therefore, the sample is representative of the working population of Latvia. The computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) method was used to collect data at respondents' places of residence. The associations between conflicts in the workplace and presenteeism were analyzed by using binomial logistic regression and calculated as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted (aOR) for gender, age, education, and survey year. On average, 11% of respondents reported sickness presenteeism during the last year. The odds of presenteeism significantly increased for all types of workplace conflicts, but most for conflicts with managers (OR = 2.84). The odds of presenteeism doubled for those reporting conflicts with other employees (OR = 2.19) and conflicts with customers (OR = 1.85). The odds of sickness presenteeism were significantly higher if the workplace conflicts occurred often (seven times for conflicts between managers and employees, and four times for conflicts with customers) and with other employees. Presenteeism frequency increased more than three times if respondents had more than two types of conflict at work. The results of this study show that having any type of conflict in the workplace significantly increases the frequency of sickness presenteeism, especially when conflicts are frequent or an employee has more types of conflicts in the workplace. The study results justify the need to implement targeted and effective workplace conflict management measures at the organizational level to decrease sickness presenteeism.

Citizens' Perception and Concerns on Chemical Exposures and Human Biomonitoring-Results from a Harmonized Qualitative Study in Seven European Countries.

Exposure to different chemicals is an inevitable part of our everyday lives. Within HBM4EU, focus group discussions were conducted to gather data on citizens' perceptions of chemical exposure and human biomonitoring. These discussions were hosted in Cyprus, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, the Netherlands, and North Macedonia following a protocol developed in the first round of discussions. Results indicate the very high concern of European citizens regarding food safety and the environment. Focus group participants were well aware of potential uptake of chemicals through food consumption (e.g., preservatives, flavor enhancers, coloring agents, pesticides, fertilizers, metals), drinking water, or from polluted air and water. One of the positive aspects identified here, is the high interest of citizens in awareness and education on personal measures to control exposure. The promotion of personal behavioral changes requires active involvement of society (e.g., commuting habits, energy choices, waste disposal, dietary habits). Activities should focus on raising awareness of the general public, implementation of policy measures, and mainstreaming of related topics into the education system. Raising awareness of the general public may promote engagement of citizens, which in turn may empower them to put pressure on politicians to take effective actions. There is also a need for further research which might focus on the impact of country-specific situations and of the COVID-19 pandemic on the exposure of citizens to chemicals.

Is It Essential for Occupational Health and Safety Experts to Know the English Language? Results From Several Studies in Latvia.

Background: Poor knowledge of the language has been identified as a barrier to up-to-date occupational safety and health information, however, this question has not been addressed in the context of occupational safety and health expert competence in providing advice for employers in a small, non-English speaking country. Objectives: To analyze the available data on the use of languages for searching professional information by occupational safety and health (OSH) experts, and the sources of information on COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic in Latvia, and to assess if the knowledge of the English language among these experts is sufficient to react rapidly and effectively in case of emergency. Methods: Data were compiled from several different sources: three web-based surveys of occupational safety and health experts (data from 2006, 2010, and 2018) and ten focus group discussions with employers and occupational safety and health experts (data from 2020). Results: The results of the surveys show that between 2006 and 2018, the percentage of respondents using only one language (Latvian) for searching professional information in occupational safety and health has increased from 25 to 35.3%. In 2018, the English language was mentioned by only 42.8% of respondents and Russian by 46.8%. During the focus group discussions, the use of English was mentioned for obtaining trustful information from international organizations, for analysis of information received within international companies, for searching international experience, and for finding county-specific information. Discussion: Our study shows that knowledge of the English language for occupational safety and health experts working in Latvia is not sufficient. The companies providing external occupational safety and health services should establish a well-functioning internal training system to provide their non-English speaking experts with up-to-date information. Occupational safety and health-related non-governmental institutions should strengthen their capacity in sharing information related to different occupational safety and health aspects into the national language (Latvian in this particular case).

Transition to the forced telework - a challenge for trade unions identified by the study on working life with COVID-19 in Latvia.

BACKGROUND: In general, companies with trade unions perform better in occupational health and safety, therefore, we assume that these companies should have performed better in transition to healthy and safe telework if compared with other companies. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to assess the role of company trade unions on the implementation of telework arrangements in Latvia during the 1st emergency state in spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A web-based survey based on snowball sampling method and social media advertisements was used to gather information from teleworkers. After data cleaning, answers from 422 teleworkers reporting having (wTU) or not having trade unions (nTU) in their companies were included in the analysis. RESULTS: There was a significantly higher percentage of workers with teleworking experience in companies with no trade unions (37.4% nTU versus 18.1% wTU). More respondents from companies with trade unions reported buying a new computer and headphones which means that more persons had to invest their finances to be able to perform their work. Workers from companies with no trade unions were more often advised on home office ergonomics (21.2% wTU versus 28.1% nTU). The odds of all analyzed health problems (pain, sore eyes, and anxiety) were increased in workers who reported having trade unions. CONCLUSION: Companies with trade unions were less ready for the forced transition to teleworking. These results contradict the traditional understanding of trade unions as a promoting factor for a healthy and safe working environment.

Challenges for Workplace Risk Assessment in Home Offices-Results from a Qualitative Descriptive Study on Working Life during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia.

Epidemiological restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have raised legal and practical questions related to the provision of workplace risk assessment in home offices of teleworkers. The objective of this qualitative study was to analyze practical experience of employers and occupational safety and health experts performing workplace risk assessment in Latvia during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings suggest that employers have not sufficiently implemented their legal obligations related to workplace risk assessment which can result in an increased number of physical and mental health problems of teleworkers in the short term and in the future. Work from home has shown how different working conditions can be for the same type of work (office work); therefore, the promotion of personalized workplace risk assessment should be encouraged. Even if virtual workplace visits using photos and videos are not the traditional way the workplace risk assessment should be done, it is effective; workers who report that their employers assessed their working conditions report fewer health effects. The experience of workers in participation in workplace risk assessment for telework might change the level and role of worker participation in the management of health and safety hazards at work in general.

Work-Life Balance of the Employed Population During the Emergency Situation of COVID-19 in Latvia.

All the employees face the challenge of finding the right work-life balance. The ability of employees to deal with the successful combining of work, family responsibilities, and personal life is crucial for both employers and family members of employees. During the COVID-19 emergency situation, many people around the world were forced to work remotely. Initially, there were observed some certain expectations about the possibility of working from home as a positive factor that will promote work-life balance. However, over time, negative tendencies were also revealed, as employees were only one call or message away from the employer, and uncertainty and leisure time with family often created more stress. As many organizations and individuals were not ready for this sudden change, many mistakes were made, which further raised the issue of work-life balance. The aim of the research was to evaluate the flexibility of reconciling work and private life of Latvian employees in various socio-demographic groups during the COVID-19 emergency situation in spring 2020, to investigate how family life influenced employees' ability to perform work duties, to find out if employees had any additional housework responsibilities and how their workload changed concerning housework amount during the COVID-19 emergency situation. The research is based on the data obtained in the survey of the Latvian employed population, which was conducted within the framework of the Latvian National Research Programme Project "CoLife" in the second half of 2020. As a result, the hypothesis of the research that all groups of employees experienced work-life balance difficulties during the COVID-19 emergency situation has been partially confirmed, i.e., women in the 18-44 age group and respondents with minor children in the household more likely faced difficulties of work-life balance. The scientific research methods that were used in the research are the monographic method, content analysis, survey, data processing with SPSS to determine the mutual independence of the data from the questionnaires.

Reasons for Low Protection of Vulnerable Workers from COVID-19-Results from the Quantitative and Qualitative Study on Working Life in Latvia.

Several individual factors like older age and chronic diseases have been linked with more severe symptoms often leading to hospitalization and higher mortality from COVID-19. Part of adults with such factors is still active in the workforce. The objective of the study was to identify measures taken by the employer to protect them and to investigate reasons for low protection of vulnerable workers during the 1st wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Answers from 1000 workers collected via web-survey and results from 10 focus group discussions were analyzed. Only 31.5% of respondents mentioned that their employer had identified existing vulnerable groups and offered specific measures to protect them. Moving vulnerable workers away from the workplace was the most frequent measure (e.g., transfer to the back-office without contact with clients, telework, paid vacations, paid downtime). Most employers do not see elderly workers and workers with chronic diseases as risk groups, thus are not specifically protecting them. Instead, several employers have included workers critical for business continuity in their risk group. Others had not taken measures because of the lack of information due to general data protection regulation. Poor communication and lack of interest of employers to ask their workers if they need special protection is the topic to be addressed at the national level.

Impact of Workplace Conflicts on Self-Reported Medically Certified Sickness Absence in Latvia.

Sickness absence is one of the most important working population health indicators. It is a complex phenomenon that is investigated by health care and occupational health specialists, economists, and work psychologists. Sickness absence is used as a predictor for morbidity and mortality, but besides the health status of an individual, sickness absence is influenced by demographic, socio-economic factors, and work environment factors. Conflicts at work are a common psychosocial risk factor that can affect sickness absence. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between different types of workplace conflict and self-reported medically certified sickness absence using cross-sectional survey data pooled from four periodic national surveys-Work conditions and risks in Latvia (2006-2018). The sample is representative of the working population of Latvia, as respondents were randomly drawn from different regions and industries. In total, the study sample (n = 8557) consisted of employees between 16 and 80 years old (average 42.8 +/- 12.6) of which 46.2% were males and 53.8% were females. Researchers used the computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) method for collecting data. The association between workplace conflicts and sickness absence was analysed by using binomial logistic regression and calculated as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), with adjustment for gender, age, education and survey year. The risk of sickness absence was higher among women (OR = 1.24, CI 1.13-1.35), employees aged 25-44 years old and employees with higher income. Controlling for socio-demographic factors and survey year, the odds of sickness absence increased significantly for all types of workplace conflict analysed. The strongest association with sickness absence was related to conflicts between managers and employees (OR = 1.51, CI 1.37-1.66) and conflicts between groups of employees (OR = 1.45, CI 1.31-1.61). Conflicts between employees and with customers also increased the odds of sickness absence (OR = 1.39, CI 1.27-1.52 and OR = 1.11, CI 1.01-1.23, respectively). Our findings suggest that tailored interventions at a company level for reducing workplace conflicts as risk factors of sickness absence are required. Those should focus on the improvement of managers' leadership and human resource management skills.

Meta-analysis of studies of occupational exposure to vinyl chloride in relation to cancer mortality.

OBJECTIVE: A meta-analysis was made of studies addressing occupational exposure to vinyl chloride in relation to cancer mortality. METHODS: Two recently updated multicenter cohort studies and six smaller studies were identified. For selected neoplasms, standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were abstracted (or calculated from raw data). In cases of lack of heterogeneity (P-value > or = 0.01), meta-analyses were conducted using a random-effects model. RESULTS: With SMR values ranging from 1.63 to 57.1, all six studies for which these ratios could be obtained suggested an increased risk of liver cancer. For four of these studies, excesses persisted when known cases of angiosarcoma of the liver (ASL) were excluded. The meta-SMR for liver cancers other than ASL (based on the 2 large cohorts) was 1.35 (95% CI 1.04-1.77). The meta-SMR for lung cancer was 0.90 (95% CI 0.77-1.00, based on 5 studies), although higher SMR values were reported in early studies. The meta-SMR for brain cancer, based on 5 studies, was 1.26 (95% CI 0.98-1.62). For soft tissue sarcomas, the meta-SMR based on 4 studies was 2.52 (95% CI 1.56-4.07). The meta-SMR for lymphatic and hematopoietic neoplasms in the 2 large studies was 0.90 (95% CI 0.75-1.01), although 3 of the smaller studies reported significant excesses. CONCLUSIONS: Apart from the known risk of ASL, workers exposed to vinyl chloride may experience an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and soft-tissue sarcoma; however, these results may have been influenced by the underdiagnosis of true ASL. Increased mortality from lung and brain cancers and from lymphatic and hematopoietic neoplasms cannot be excluded; mortality from other neoplasms does not appear to be increased.