In This Issue of Occupational Medicine

We are now well into the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and although there have been remarkable advances, particularly with vaccines, there is still a long way to go. Remaining receptive to scientific developments has been central to delivering effective pandemic response and doubtless will remain so. We have several interesting contributions related to COVID-19 in the current issue. Groteet al. bring to our attention the singular challenge mask wearing has presented to D/deaf healthcare professionals, who rely on lip reading and facial expression for communication [1]. The majority of questionnaire respondents reported feeling anxious and fearful of making a mistake due to communication difficulties associated with mask wear. Notably, a minority of those removed from their workplace due to communication difficulties had received an occupational health assessment to discuss reasonable adjustments. Transparent masks would help and are becoming available, but more work on development and deployment is urged. I expect this problem is common to all occupations and no doubt deserves more attention.
Source: Occupational Medicine - Category: Respiratory Medicine Source Type: research