DEOHS responds to COVID-19 | Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences

How our research is contributing to the public health response

Experts at the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences are actively engaged in COVID-19 research and service activities to help protect workers and build resilient communities during the global pandemic.

Our impact

A mid adult Asian couple standing at a kitchen counter in their home, they are preparing a salad for lunch together. The man is preparing lettuce leaves while holding his young son in his arms. His pregnant wife is grating carrots next to him.

How a key nutritional program adapted to the pandemic

Washington’s WIC nutritional support program served more families by increasing remote access, new UW-WIC study shows

A man wearing a face mask sits in the back seat of a car.

App-based drivers report COVID-19 stress

DEOHS-led study provides rare window into work life of app-based drivers during pandemic

Cartoon of two images of a woman in hijab with a right arrow between them. The first image shows her holding a bottle of soap and cleaning a sink. The second shows her spraying disinfectant on a sink. Text bubble above: Always clean before you disinfect so the disinfectab

Safer cleaning through comics

DEOHS researchers with Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units develop comic strips in nine languages to promote safer cleaning habits for families

Woman looks down at laptop with her hands on the keys, indoors at a desk next to an open window.

Measuring the pandemic’s toll on mental health

DEOHS Associate Professor Edmund Seto and collaborators tracked stress and anxiety during Washington’s stay-at-home orders

Six people in masks stand around a sign in Spanish offering financial assistance during the pandemic to immigrants.

Following the community’s lead in the pandemic

DEOHS researchers partner with communities of color across Washington to assess health equity and food security in the pandemic

Diana working

An internship with impact

DEOHS student Diana Marquez helped connect Yakima Valley farmworkers with COVID-19 information and vaccines during a recent internship

In the news

Seattle becomes first U.S. city to permanently require sick leave for delivery and app-based workers

March 28, 2023 | GeekWire | Featured: Marissa Baker View

‘It’s a very difficult thing to pin down’: Did Covid-19 originate from a ‘lab leak’?

March 19, 2023 | The Independent | Featured: Gerard A. Cangelosi View

Survey shows food insecurity remains high in Washington state

March 8, 2023 | KOMO News | Featured: Jennifer Otten View

Current status of COVID-19 in Washington

March 7, 2023 | King 5 News | Featured: Gerard A. Cangelosi View

Food insecurity persists in WA, just as emergency benefits expire

February 28, 2023 | Seattle Times | Featured: Jennifer Otten View