Percepciones de personas económicamente activas obligadas a realizar trabajo remoto durante la pandemia de COVID-19 por tener una comorbilidad: estudio cualitativo / Perceptions of economically active people who had to do remote work during the COVID19 pandemic due to having a comorbidity: a qualitative study

Introducción: la probabilidad de presentar una forma grave de COVID-19 es mayor en personas con algunas condiciones preexistentes. En la Argentina, las personas con alguna de estas comorbilidades realizaron un trabajo remoto y diferenciado respecto de sus compañeros. Esta estrategia se denomina shielding y tiene resultados heterogéneos, ya que ­si bien evita las infecciones­ puede tener algún impacto en las vivencias y salud de las personas. Métodos: investigación exploratoria a través de un diseño cualitativo basado en entrevistas semiestructuradas. Resultados: se realizaron 21 entrevistas. Se organizaron los conceptos en ejes temáticos de análisis. Como principales hallazgos se identificó que la salud general de las personas empeoró durante la pandemia a pesar de realizar trabajo diferenciado, y que durante el período explorado surgieron múltiples emergentes que incluyeron hábitos no saludables y estrategias positivas de afrontamiento. Respecto de lo laboral predominaron los sentimientos negativos. Conclusión: la implementación de shielding resulta insuficiente como única medida para la preservación de la salud de las personas con mayor riesgo de desarrollar formas graves de COVID-19. (AU)

Introduction: people with some pre-existing conditions are more likely to have a severe form of COVID-19. In Argentina, people with any of these comorbidities performed remote and differentiated work compared to their peers. This strategy is known as shielding and has heterogeneous results, since although it prevents infections it can have some impact on people's experiences and health. Methods: exploratory research through a qualitative design based on semi-structured interviews. Results: 21 interviews were conducted. The concepts were organized in thematic axes of analysis. As the main findings, we identified that the general health of the people worsened during the pandemic despite performing differentiated work, and that during the period explored, emerged both unhealthy habits and positive coping strategies. Regarding work, negative feelings predominated over positives. Conclusion: the implementation of shielding is insufficient as the only measure for the preservation of the health of people at higher risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19. (AU)

Radon in workplaces: first results of an extensive survey and comparison with radon in homes.

Extensive radon surveys have been carried out in many countries only in dwellings, whereas surveys in workplaces are rather sparse and generally restricted to specific workplaces/activities, e.g. schools, spas and caves. Moreover, radon-prone areas are generally defined on the basis of radon surveys in dwellings, while radon regulations use this concept to introduce specific requirements in workplaces in such areas. This approach does not take into account that work activities and workplace characteristics can significantly affect radon concentration. Therefore, an extensive survey on radon in different workplaces have been carried out in a large region of Italy (Tuscany), in order to evaluate radon distribution in workplaces over the whole territory and to identify activities and workplace characteristics affecting radon concentration. The results of this extensive survey are compared with the results of the survey carried out in dwellings in the same period. The workplaces monitored were randomly selected among the main work activities in the region, including both public and industrial buildings. The survey monitored over 3500 rooms in more than 1200 buildings for two consecutive periods of ∼6 months. Radon concentration was measured by means of passive nuclear track detectors.