Predicting COVID-19 Cases in Nursing Homes of California and Ohio: Does the Work Environment Matter?

Roy, Soumyadipta; Collins, Jamie E; Boden, Leslie I; Katz, Jeffrey N; Wagner, Gregory R; Sorensen, Glorian; Williams, Jessica A R · J Occup Environ Med · 2024

cross_sectional · Level IV

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Abstract

The cross-sectional study evaluates if the prepandemic work environments in nursing homes predict coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases among residents and staff, accounting for other factors. Leveraging data from a survey of California and Ohio nursing homes (n = 340), we examined if Workplace Integrated Safety and Health domains - Leadership, Participation, and Comprehensive and Collaborative Strategies predicted cumulative COVID-19 cases among nursing home residents and staff. In Ohio, a 1-unit increase in Leadership score was associated with 2 fewer staff cases and 4 fewer resident cases. A 1-unit increase in Comprehensive and Collaborative Strategies score in California showed an average marginal effect of approximately 1 less staff case and 2 fewer resident cases. These findings suggest that leadership commitment and interdepartment collaboration to prioritize worker safety may have protected against COVID-19 cases in nursing homes.

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