Impact of long-term COVID on workers: A systematic review protocol

Abstract

Introduction Part of the patients infected by COVID-19 have at least one lasting sequel of the disease and may be framed in the concept of long Covid. These sequelae can compromise the quality of life, increase dependence on other people for personal care, impair the performance of activities of daily living, thus compromising work activities and harming the health of the worker. This protocol aims to critically synthesize the scientific evidence on the effects of Covid-19 among workers and its impact on their health status and professional life. Method Searches will be performed in MEDLINE via PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library Central, Web of Science, Scopus, LILACS and Epistemonikos. Included studies will be those that report the prevalence of long-term signs and symptoms in workers and/or the impact on their health status and work performance, which may be associated with Covid-19 infection. Data extraction will be conducted by 3 reviewers independently. For data synthesis, a results report will be carried out, based on the main outcome of this study. Discussion This review will provide evidence to support health surveillance to help decision makers (i.e. healthcare providers, stakeholders and governments) regarding long-term Covid. Trial registration PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021288120. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021288120.