What happened: B.C. researchers and businesses are recruiting volunteers to study both the medical and psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 in the workplace
Why it matters: Real-time data from the study may be used to inform public health decisions as more British Columbians go back to work
As COVID-19 restrictions ease across the province and throngs of workers make cautious returns to the workplace, B.C. researchers are partnering with the private sector to study how to safely reintegrate employees amid the pandemic.
The 15-month study will collect anonymized data from 1,500 volunteers employed at biotech firms Stemcell Technologies Inc., Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Zymeworks Inc., as well as Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia.
Students working at those organizations’ labs and facilities will also be able to volunteer.
“We understand fully this sector, life sciences, may not be representative of all sectors,” said project co-lead Dr. Simon Pimstone, an associate professor of medicine at UBC and the founding CEO of Xenon.
“It’s not going to necessarily reflect what’s going to happen in all types of businesses, but you’ve got to start somewhere and we felt this was a good place to start because these were scientists. They understand how to be compliant in these types of studies.”
Researchers at UBC, SFU and the B.C. Centre for Disease Control will be using the data to examine infections, immunity, contacts and symptoms of volunteers.
For example, serological testing will be conducted at the outset of the study as well as the six-month and 12-month marks to determine the proportion of volunteers who test positive for antibodies.
Rather than waiting until the end of the study to release results, data will be made available in real time to help officials with public health decisions.
The $1.2-million project — known as SARS‐CoV‐2 Study for Eased Restrictions in British Columbia — is being funded by industry partners as well Genome BC and Genome Canada.
“We’re not aware of any study quite like this at this scale [in Canada] which will have data collected in a very formal sort of research protocol … that will allow the public health system to make decisions on and to understand workplace and environmental risks or impacts,” Pimstone said, adding the study will also delve into the psychosocial impacts of COVID-19.
Surveys will be distributed to determine how the pandemic has affected stress and anxiety levels or issues dealing with depression.
“The emotional and physical health of the employees in businesses is absolutely paramount. I say that as a business manager, as a CEO of a company, but of course as a human being,” Pimstone said.
“We want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to look after our employees who give up their time to commit to our companies.”
LifeLabs LP and B.C.-based Thrive Health Inc. are also supporting the study’s testing and tracing, respectively.
The study does not have a firm start date but Genome BC said it will begin once all agreements are in place within the “near term.”
