Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35851017›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2022

COVID-19 outbreak rates and infection attack rates associated with the workplace: a descriptive epidemiological study.

Yiqun Chen, Timothy Aldridge, Claire Ferraro, Fu-Meng Khaw

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Yiqun ChenScience Division, Health and Safety Executive, Buxton, UK yiqun.chen@hse.gov.uk.ORCID 0000-0003-4218-084X
Timothy AldridgeScience Division, Health and Safety Executive, Buxton, UK.
Claire FerraroPublic Health England South West, Public Health England, Bristol, UK.
Fu-Meng KhawHealth Protection and Screening Services, Public Health Wales, Cardiff, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesA large number of COVID-19 outbreaks/clusters have been reported in a variety of workplace settings since the start of the pandemic but the rate of outbreak occurrence in the workplace has not previously been assessed. The objectives of this paper are to identify the geographical areas and industrial sectors with a high rate of outbreaks of COVID-19 and to compare infection attack rates by enterprise size and sector in England.

methodsPublic Health England (PHE) HPZone data on COVID-19 outbreaks in workplaces, between 18 May and 12 October 2020, were analysed. The workplace outbreak rates by region and sector were calculated, using National Population Database (NPD) with the total number of workplaces as the denominator. The infection attack rates were calculated by enterprise size and sector using PHE Situations of Interest data with the number of test-confirmed COVID-19 cases in a workplace outbreak as the numerator and using NPD data with the number employed in that workplace as the denominator.

resultsThe highest attack rate was for outbreaks in close contact services (median 16.5%), followed by outbreaks in restaurants and catering (median 10.2%), and in manufacturers and packers of non-food products (median 6.7%). The overall outbreak rate was 66 per 100 000 workplaces. Of the nine English regions, the North West had the highest workplace outbreak rate (155 per 100 000 workplaces). Of the industrial sectors, manufacturers and packers of food had the highest outbreak rate (1672 per 100 000), which was consistent across seven of the regions. In addition, high outbreak rates in warehouses were observed in the East Midlands and the North West.

conclusionsEarly identification of geographical regions and industrial sectors with higher rates of COVID-19 workplace outbreaks can inform interventions to limit transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Indexed as

COVID-19Disease OutbreaksEpidemiologic StudiesHumansIncidenceSARS-CoV-2WorkplaceCOVID-19epidemiologyoccupational & industrial medicinepublic health

Identifiers

PMID35851017
PMCPMC9296995

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.