Background: Our objective was to deliver actionable, worksite-specific COVID-19 risk assessments and mitigation strategies tailored to vulnerable workers in one of the highest-risk areas in the US.
Methods: Four trained, bilingual (English/Spanish) community health workers (CHWs) recruited small businesses (ie, ≤20 employees) across various industries and executed novel on-site infectious disease risk assessment surveys of at least one employer and one employee.
Results: Of 102 participating businesses (95% Hispanic-owned), 96% were characterized as "high risk" or "very high risk" for disease transmission. All businesses reported implementing at least one practice to reduce disease transmission; however, almost half of businesses lacked at least 13 of the 17 controls identified to mitigate risk.
Conclusions: Tailored, culturally sensitive outreach led by CHWs identified and educated businesses on critical hazards, and these methods may be transferable to similar communities.
Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.