Background

In the Caribbean, all countries have confirmed COVID-19 cases. Considering the high infectivity of the virus, no preexisting immunity to the virus and an associated modest reproductive rate (R₀), the high density of persons utilizing public transport is of immense public health concern. Public transport systems may facilitate and accelerate the transmission of the disease.

Aim

The aim of this study was to assess the COVID-19 related risk perceptions among taxi drivers by virtue of their occupation and the implications for health promotion interventions.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2020 among 282 taxi drivers in the Kingston and St. Andrew (KSA) metropolitan region in Jamaica. A 28-item anonymized self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data which was subsequently analyzed using SPSS version 20. A risk score was generated and the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests were used to determine differences in the mean ranks for risk perception score as applicable. A 5% alpha level was utilized in determining statistical significance.

Results

Risk perception scores ranged from 10 to 21 with a median of 17 (IQR 3.25) and there was no statistically significant difference in the median risk perception score by socio-demographic variables. There was however, a statistically significant positive correlation (Spearman's rho = 0.238, p=<0.001) between risk perception and knowledge. Approximately, 86% of respondents reported that they obtained COVID-19-related information from news reports (traditional media).

Conclusion

Taxi drivers perceive themselves to be at occupationally related risk of COVID-19. Therefore, greater understanding of this issue is paramount as it can aid in the crafting of initiatives that may enhance personal safety of both taxi drivers and commuters.

中文翻译：

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牙买加金斯敦和圣安德鲁的出租车运营商对 COVID-19 相关风险的看法

背景

在加勒比地区，所有国家/地区都已确认 COVID-19 病例。考虑到该病毒的高传染性、对病毒没有预先存在的免疫力以及相关的适度繁殖率 (R ₀ )，使用公共交通工具的高密度人群是一个巨大的公共卫生问题。公共交通系统可能会促进和加速疾病的传播。

目的

本研究的目的是评估出租车司机因其职业而对 COVID-19 相关的风险认知以及对健康促进干预措施的影响。

方法

2020 年 5 月，对牙买加金斯敦和圣安德鲁 (KSA) 大都市区的 282 名出租车司机进行了一项横断面研究。使用 28 项匿名自填问卷收集数据，随后使用 SPSS 20 版进行分析。生成风险评分，并使用 Mann-Whitney U 和 Kruskal Wallis 检验确定风险感知平均等级的差异分数适用。5% 的 alpha 水平用于确定统计显着性。

结果

风险感知分数范围为 10 至 21，中位数为 17 (IQR 3.25)，社会人口变量的风险感知分数中位数在统计学上没有显着差异。然而，风险认知与知识之间存在统计学上显着的正相关（Spearman's rho = 0.238，p=<0.001）。大约 86% 的受访者表示，他们从新闻报道（传统媒体）中获得了与 COVID-19 相关的信息。

结论

出租车司机认为自己处于与职业相关的 COVID-19 风险中。因此，加深对这一问题的了解至关重要，因为它有助于制定可增强出租车司机和通勤者人身安全的举措。