How COVID-19 affected the health and wellbeing of service-sector workers
Official title: COVID-19 and the Health and Wellbeing of Vulnerable Service Sector Workers across the Life Course
Funded at Harvard University · NIH-11171512 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how job loss, frontline exposure, masking rules, and safety-net policies during COVID-19 shaped the health and wellbeing of low-income service workers and their families.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cambridge, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $610,334 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG081273-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11171512 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults age 21 and older who work or recently worked in service-sector jobs (retail, grocery, food service, fulfillment, etc.), including those who experienced unemployment or frontline exposure during the pandemic.
✕Less likely to help
People who never worked in the service sector or whose experiences fall entirely outside the COVID-era policy context may not see direct benefits from this project.
What this research studies
You would be asked about your job, income changes, health, and how you and people at your workplace followed COVID precautions like masking and staying home when sick. The team will combine surveys, employment and health records, and local policy information (for example, paid sick leave and masking rules) to understand effects over time. They'll compare experiences across ages, races, and types of service jobs to see who was most harmed or helped. The goal is to identify policies and practices that reduced health harms and inequalities among service workers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could point to workplace and public policies that better protect service workers' physical and mental health during future public-health crises.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have linked unemployment and frontline exposure to worse health, but applying those lessons to service workers and COVID-era safety-net and workplace policies is a newer, more focused approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Harvard University
Cambridge, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schneider, Danny — Harvard University
- Study coordinator: Schneider, Danny
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable service sector workers' health and wellbeing
This study looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the health and wellbeing of low-income service workers, especially women and people of color, and it aims to understand how helpful safety programs and workplace rules were in keeping them safe and healthy during this tough time.
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Structural factors linking minimum wage, COVID-19, and community violence
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Center for Work, Health and Wellbeing at Harvard
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A study in veterans explores whether changing weight through lifestyle habits can improve recovery after COVID-19–related health problems.
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Post-COVID Neuro-Cognitive Changes in Older African Americans
A study explores how COVID-19 affects thinking, memory, and daily life in older African American adults and what might be driving these changes.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.