Deaths from COVID-19 among workers hospitalized at Hospital Municipal Ronaldo Gazolla from the perspective of work precariousness.

Abstract

Introduction: Among the inequalities heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic are those linked to work. Informal workers and the unemployed - already vulnerable before the pandemic - had greater difficulty adopting social distancing. This study analyzes occupational data from patients at a referral hospital for COVID-19 in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, considering the scarcity of information on workers' health during the pandemic.

Objectives: This research sought (i) to investigate the relationships between the type of employment relationship and deaths and (ii) to describe the most frequent occupations according to the type of employment relationship and the percentage of deaths.

Methods: One thousand four hundred and four medical records of hospitalizations that occurred between August 2021 and November 2021 were analyzed.

Results: The most represented professions were vendors/sellers, masons/bricklayers, doormen, security guards, drivers, and rideshare drivers. Compared to formal workers, the relative risk of death was 77% higher among homemakers, after adjusting for age. The relative risk of death was 11 and 29% higher among informal workers and the unemployed, respectively, compared to formal workers, but this difference was not statistically significant. Doormen, administrative assistants, salespersons, janitors/custodians, and cleaners had the highest rates of death.

Conclusions: Attention should be given to the increased severity of COVID-19 among homemakers, possibly resulting from an unfavorable health profile in terms of comorbidities in this group.