Information for staff in the catering and hospitality industry
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This article contains more detailed information for anyone who is considering participating or has already agreed to participate in the air purifier study.
Background to the study
The entire catering and hospitality industry and everyone working in the industry were hit hard during the pandemic. There is broad agreement that more knowledge is needed concerning the measures that were implemented in order to reduce infection in society.
We do we want to achieve in this study?
In this study, we want to investigate whether air purifiers have any effect on the spreading of respiratory infection in premises where employees come into direct contact with guests. The best way to do this is to conduct a study which covers a large number of employees at restaurants, bars and cafés, split into two groups. One group will receive air purifiers fitted with HEPA filters, while the other will not. We will then take parallel measurements within the two groups to see how often employees are afflicted with respiratory symptoms. We will look at both respiratory infection which occurs without anyone else at work being ill, and illness which occurs after someone at the workplace has been ill. We will also collect data on sick leave taken by the individual employees participating in the study. We will obtain this data from the general manager, provided that you as an employee have consented to this. It is normal to be ill a few times over the winter season, and bartenders and waiters are a vulnerable group. We will collect this data to see whether the sick leave in one group is less than, the same or more than that in the other group.
Registration for employees at participating restaurants, bars and cafés
If you as an employee have received an e-mail/SMS message with an invitation to participate in the air purifier study, you can log in and sign up to participate via the link you received, or use the link below (requires BankID):
I have been invited to take part in the study – take me to the online form for completion (not yet open for registration by employees).
Once you click on the link, you will be taken through the following steps:
- You will be asked to log in using secure electronic ID (BankID etc.).
- You will then be given information on how the data will be collected, stored and used.
- If you decide to proceed and take part in the study, you will be asked to sign the consent form after logging in again with BankID.
- After you have given your consent, you will be a participant in the study and you will be asked to answer questions in a questionnaire.
It will take a little while until we have all the restaurants, bars and cafés we need in the study before we can actually start the study and distribute the air purifiers.
As a participant, what will I have to do in this study?
First and foremost – carry on with your life in the normal way! It is important for the results that you do not pay special attention to the fact that you taking part in a study. You do not need to take any precautions just because you are taking part in the research project. Carry on exactly as you would normally do.
We will then ask you to help us by answering some questions.
- We will first send you a questionnaire, which will take around 10 minutes to answer. This questionnaire will contain questions about your perception of air quality and noise at your workplace, questions concerning symptoms and a few questions relating to COVID-19.
- You will then receive a weekly SMS with questions about any respiratory symptoms you have experienced during the previous week. It will take around 10 seconds to log if you have not experienced any symptoms, and perhaps a few minutes if you have had symptoms.
- Finally, we will send you a concluding questionnaire, similar to the one you received at the start of the study period.
Participation in this study is voluntary and you can withdraw at any time.
Frequently Asked Questions
I no longer wish to participate in the study. How do I withdraw?
Answer: You can withdraw from the study without giving any reason. You will find an option to withdraw from the study at the bottom of the consent form when you log in to the online form, or you can send an email to the contact person.
More information?
- There is a lot of information on our website
- Do you need more information about the research project? Find out more about the study here.
- Do you wish to register your restaurant, bar, café or club to take part in the study? See this page for registration.
- Do you have any questions that you can't find the answers to here? Please contact us
