Occupational heat stress : Multi-country observations and interventions
(2021) In International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(12).- Abstract
Background: Occupational heat exposure can provoke health problems that increase the risk of certain diseases and affect workers’ ability to maintain healthy and productive lives. This study investigates the effects of occupational heat stress on workers’ physiological strain and labor productivity, as well as examining multiple interventions to mitigate the problem. Methods: We monitored 518 full work-shifts obtained from 238 experienced and acclimatized individuals who work in key industrial sectors located in Cyprus, Greece, Qatar, and Spain. Continuous core body temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, and labor productivity were collected from the beginning to the end of all work-shifts. Results: In workplaces where... (More)
Background: Occupational heat exposure can provoke health problems that increase the risk of certain diseases and affect workers’ ability to maintain healthy and productive lives. This study investigates the effects of occupational heat stress on workers’ physiological strain and labor productivity, as well as examining multiple interventions to mitigate the problem. Methods: We monitored 518 full work-shifts obtained from 238 experienced and acclimatized individuals who work in key industrial sectors located in Cyprus, Greece, Qatar, and Spain. Continuous core body temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, and labor productivity were collected from the beginning to the end of all work-shifts. Results: In workplaces where self-pacing is not feasible or very limited, we found that occupational heat stress is associated with the heat strain experienced by workers. Strategies focusing on hydration, work-rest cycles, and ventilated clothing were able to mitigate the physiological heat strain experienced by workers. Increasing mechanization enhanced labor productivity without increasing workers’ physiological strain. Conclusions: Empowering la-borers to self-pace is the basis of heat mitigation, while tailored strategies focusing on hydration, work-rest cycles, ventilated garments, and mechanization can further reduce the physiological heat strain experienced by workers under certain conditions.
(Less)
- author
- organization
- publishing date
- 2021-06-02
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Breaks, Heat stress, Hydration, Ice slurry, Labor productivity, Mechanization, Mitigation, Physiological strain, Ventilated garments, Work
- in
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- volume
- 18
- issue
- 12
- article number
- 6303
- publisher
- MDPI AG
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:34200783
- scopus:85107480984
- ISSN
- 1661-7827
- DOI
- 10.3390/ijerph18126303
- project
- Integrated inter-sector framework to increase the thermal resilience of European
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Funding Information: Funding: The study has received funding from the International Labour Organization (Contract Number: 40262271/1) as well as from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (project HEAT-SHIELD; Grant agreement No 668786). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
- id
- c3645c69-663a-42a1-9f76-97b22ee83695
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-18 16:14:23
- date last changed
- 2024-06-16 15:16:16
@article{c3645c69-663a-42a1-9f76-97b22ee83695,
abstract = {{<p>Background: Occupational heat exposure can provoke health problems that increase the risk of certain diseases and affect workers’ ability to maintain healthy and productive lives. This study investigates the effects of occupational heat stress on workers’ physiological strain and labor productivity, as well as examining multiple interventions to mitigate the problem. Methods: We monitored 518 full work-shifts obtained from 238 experienced and acclimatized individuals who work in key industrial sectors located in Cyprus, Greece, Qatar, and Spain. Continuous core body temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, and labor productivity were collected from the beginning to the end of all work-shifts. Results: In workplaces where self-pacing is not feasible or very limited, we found that occupational heat stress is associated with the heat strain experienced by workers. Strategies focusing on hydration, work-rest cycles, and ventilated clothing were able to mitigate the physiological heat strain experienced by workers. Increasing mechanization enhanced labor productivity without increasing workers’ physiological strain. Conclusions: Empowering la-borers to self-pace is the basis of heat mitigation, while tailored strategies focusing on hydration, work-rest cycles, ventilated garments, and mechanization can further reduce the physiological heat strain experienced by workers under certain conditions.</p>}},
author = {{Ioannou, Leonidas G. and Mantzios, Konstantinos and Tsoutsoubi, Lydia and Nintou, Eleni and Vliora, Maria and Gkiata, Paraskevi and Dallas, Constantinos N. and Gkikas, Giorgos and Agaliotis, Gerasimos and Sfakianakis, Kostas and Kapnia, Areti K. and Testa, Davide J. and Amorim, Tânia and Dinas, Petros C. and Mayor, Tiago S. and Gao, Chuansi and Nybo, Lars and Flouris, Andreas D.}},
issn = {{1661-7827}},
keywords = {{Breaks; Heat stress; Hydration; Ice slurry; Labor productivity; Mechanization; Mitigation; Physiological strain; Ventilated garments; Work}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{06}},
number = {{12}},
publisher = {{MDPI AG}},
series = {{International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}},
title = {{Occupational heat stress : Multi-country observations and interventions}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126303}},
doi = {{10.3390/ijerph18126303}},
volume = {{18}},
year = {{2021}},
}