Oude Hengel KM, Peters S, Stokholm ZA, Burdorf A, Pronk A, Kolstad HA, van Tongeren M, Basinas I, Schlünssen V. Capturing occupational risk of airborne disease: An international job-exposure matrix based on five exposure factors. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2025 May 22;51(5):444-448.
Qualitative (specify cut-off points, if applicable)
Semi-quantitative (specify categories and cut-off points, if applicable )
Specify: Qualitative (specify cut-off points)
Depending on the factor, Categories: 1-2-3
Semi-quantitative (specify categories and cut-off points, if applicable )
Hours per week on site: 1: site (<24 hours) Working 2: 4 days per week on site (≥24 hours or <32 hours per week) 3: Working 5 days per week on site (≥32 hours)
Probability
No
Duration
Yes
Duration categories/levels
Number of hours for (1) hours per day working indoor and (2) hours per week on site
Frequency
No
Peaks
No
Data source(s)
Expert assessment
Self-reported data
Relation with other JEMs
Covid-19-JEM
Strengths
Iterative approach used to develop the general airborne infectious agents JEM
Weaknesses
A notable limitation is that, by design, a JEM does not account for within occupation variability. As a result, well-established risk factors such as inadequate ventilation and moisture could not be incorporated, as their variability within occupations is likely to exceed the variability observed between occupations.
