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Abstract BackgroundAs an illustrative example of COVID-19 pandemic community-based participatory research (CBPR), we describe a community-academic partnership to prioritize future research most important to people experiencing high occupational exposure to COVID-19 – food service workers. Food service workers face key challenges surrounding (1) health and safety precautions, (2) stress and mental health, and (3) the long-term pandemic impact. MethodUsing CBPR methodologies, academic scientists partnered with community stakeholders to develop the research aims, methods, and measures, and interpret and disseminate results. We conducted a survey, three focus groups, and a rapid qualitative assessment to understand the three areas of concern and prioritize future research. ResultsThe survey showed that food service employers mainly supported basic droplet protections (soap, hand sanitizer, gloves), rather than comprehensive airborne protections (high-quality masks, air quality monitoring, air cleaning). Food service workers faced challenging decisions surrounding isolation, quarantine, testing, masking, vaccines, and in-home transmission, described anxiety, depression, and substance use as top mental health concerns, and described long-term physical and financial concerns. Focus groups provided qualitative examples of concerns experienced by food service workers and narrowed topic prioritization. The rapid qualitative assessment identified key needs and opportunities, with help reducing in-home COVID-19 transmission identified as a top priority. COVID-19 mitigation scientists offered recommendations for reducing in-home transmission. ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic has forced food service workers to experience complex decisions about health and safety, stress and mental health concerns, and longer-term concerns. Challenging health decisions included attempting to avoid an airborne infectious illness when employers were mainly only concerned with droplet precautions and trying to decide protocols for testing and isolation without clear guidance, free tests, or paid sick leave. Key mental health concerns were anxiety, depression, and substance use. Longer-term challenges included Long COVID, lack of mental healthcare access, and financial instability. Food service workers suggest the need for more research aimed at reducing in-home COVID-19 transmission and supporting long-term mental health, physical health, and financial concerns. This research provides an illustrative example of how to cultivate community-based partnerships to respond to immediate and critical issues affecting populations most burdened by public health crises.
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Human Acceptance of the Cleaning Robot in Grocery Environments During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Cleaning work is a labor-intensive job that frequently exposes workers to substantial occupational hazards. Unfortunately, the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has increased the pressure on janitors and cleaners to meet the rising need for a safe and hygienic environment, particularly in grocery stores, where the majority of people get their daily necessities. To reduce the occupational hazards and fulfill the new challenges of COVID-19, autonomous cleaning robots, have been designed to complement human workers. However, a lack of understanding of the new generation of cleaning tools’ acceptance may raise safety concerns when they’re deployed. Therefore, a video-based survey was developed and distributed to 32 participants, aiming to assess human acceptance of the cleaning robot in grocery environments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the effects of four factors (gender, work experience, knowledge, and pet) that may influence human acceptance of the cleaning robot were also examined. In general, our findings revealed a non-negative human acceptance of the cleaning robot, which is a positive sign of deploying cleaning robots in grocery stores to reduce the workload of employees and decrease COIVID-related anxiety and safety concerns of customers. Furthermore, prior knowledge of robotics was observed to have a significant effect on participants’ acceptance of the cleaning robot ( p = 0.039).
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- Award ID(s):
- 2132936
- PAR ID:
- 10424467
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
- Volume:
- 66
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2169-5067
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 177 to 181
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1071181322661138
