# Implementation of a monitoring and contact tracing program to manage COVID-19 by a multinational chemical company

## TL;DR

A multinational chemical company implemented a contact tracing program to manage COVID-19, finding that age, symptoms, remote work, and emotional distress were linked to infections.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates how workplace data can identify risk factors and inform health interventions during a pandemic.

## Key findings

- 1190 confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified out of 4206 reports between 2020 and 2022.
- Age over 40, being symptomatic, remote work, and emotional distress were associated with infection.
- On-the-job education and mental health monitoring were highlighted as important for worker protection.

## Abstract

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, uninterrupted manufacture of products for
domestic or health care purposes presupposed initiatives to control
transmission in the work environment.

This study analyzed data collected in a multinational chemical company
between 2020 and 2022 through its COVID-19 contact tracing system,
determining the association between work variables, personal protective
equipment use, emotional distress symptoms, and diagnostic confirmation of
COVID-19.

This correlational, cross-sectional study analyzed a company database of
reports of suspected cases between June 2020 and January 2022. Descriptive
analysis was performed, and the chi-square test was used to study the
associations between the variables, with a significance level of 5%.

Of the 4206 total reports, 1190 diagnoses of COVID-19 were confirmed. The
following variables were associated with infection: age over 40 years, being
symptomatic, being a remote worker, and reporting difficulties with
emotional control.

The results identified the potential of on-the-job education activities, as
well as that control and prevention measures protected worker health, and
that worker mental health should be monitored.