Research: Construction Workers 5x More Likely to Enter Hospital with COVID-19

Construction workers are five times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than other kinds of workers. That's the conclusion of a research project undertaken by the COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, an interdisciplinary network of researchers and health professionals working at the University of Texas at Austin.

The results were published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Network Open, a subsidiary of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In an analysis of data from mid-March to mid-August on Austin hospitalizations, while Austin residents experienced an increase of coronavirus hospitalization rates of four times, from 0.38 at the start to 1.5 per 1,000 residents at the end, for construction workers, the rate rose from 0.22 to 9.3 per 1,000 construction workers.

According to the researchers, the higher relative risk for this category of workers probably had several reasons. First, there was the continuation of construction work throughout the pandemic. For instance, while construction in Austin was initially halted by local order, according to the researchers, a week later, the segment was deemed "essential" by state order, allowing construction projects to continue. The nature of the work also exacerbated the risks due to close contact with others, practices by employers and demographic factors.

Another aspect of the relatively high rate of infection is the racial/ethnic makeup of the construction sector. As the report noted, while 18 percent of all workers are Hispanic or Latinx, nearly 30 percent of the construction workforce in the United States are Latinx. Yet this group of people has suffered nearly five times more COVID-19 hospitalizations compared to White, non-Hispanic people, according to tracking by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Texas, while Hispanics make up 40 percent of the state's population, they make up 55 percent of COVID deaths, according to the latest data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The study found that some basic precautions — mask wearing and physical distancing on the work site —would help reduce the numbers. Also useful: having national, state or local government or employers cover paid sick leave and other incentives to motivate workers to stay home when they have a known exposure or are experiencing mild symptoms. In addition, the researchers wrote, regular work site-based COVID-19 testing and contact tracing would help prevent spread.

"It doesn't necessarily mean we need to stop construction work," said Lauren Ancel Meyers, a professor of integrative biology and director of the consortium, in a statement. "It means we need to go to great lengths to ensure the health and safety of workers when they do go to work."

The study was supported, in part, by the CDC and the National Institutes of Health.

The report is openly available on the JAMA Network Open website.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Aims Community College to Build Workforce Innovation Center

    Aims Community College in Greeley, Colo., recently announced that it has broken ground on its new Aims Workforce Innovation Center (AWIC), according to a news release. The facility for workforce development, entrepreneurship, and education has a scheduled opening date of fall 2026.

  • dormitory with green roofs, solar panels, balconies, and labeled architectural annotations

    2025 Residence Hall Design Trends Focus on Sustainability, Flexibility, Community, Technology, and Well-Being

    With the most technically advanced Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) at the helm, residence hall design trends for 2025 look to focus on flexible spaces, health and wellness, sustainability, community, and digital technology.

  • Designing School Spaces for A++ Performance

    In recent years, the educational world has gained greater appreciation for the ways a space’s aesthetics, just like its acoustics, can positively impact educational outcomes. Consequently, engineering, designing, and constructing a school environment demands acoustics to be equally an art and a science, requiring architects and designers to see with their ears, while acousticians must hear with their eyes.

  • MiEN Releases White Paper on Community College Space Innovation

    MiEN Company recently released a new white paper called “Designing New Innovative Spaces for Community Colleges” to address the needs of community colleges post-pandemic, according to a news release. The eight-page guide by Dr. Christina Counts, MiEN Company VP of Education and Marketing, covers topics like the enrollment drop that these schools have seen since COVID-19, the roles they play in higher education and local workforces, and five suggested key changes that can improve students’ experiences.

Digital Edition