TY - JOUR

T1 - Occupational heat stress: Multi-country observations and interventions

AU - Ioannou, Leonidas G

AU - Mantzios, Konstantinos

AU - Tsoutsoubi, Lydia

AU - Nintou, Eleni

AU - Vliora, Maria

AU - Gkiata, Paraskevi

AU - Dallas, Constantinos N

AU - Gkikas, Giorgos

AU - Agaliotis, Gerasimos

AU - Sfakianakis, Kostas

AU - Kapnia, Areti K

AU - Testa, Davide J

AU - Amorim, Tânia

AU - Dinas, Petros C

AU - Sotto Mayor, Tiago

AU - Gao, Chuansi

AU - Nybo, Lars

AU - Flouris, Andreas D

N1 - CURIS 2021 NEXS 216

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - 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 laborers 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.

AB - 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 laborers 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.

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - Heat stress

KW - Work

KW - Mitigation

KW - Labor productivity

KW - Physiological strain

KW - Hydration

KW - Breaks

KW - Ventilated garments

KW - Mechanization

KW - Ice slurry

U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18126303

DO - 10.3390/ijerph18126303

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34200783

VL - 18

JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

SN - 1661-7827

IS - 12

M1 - 6303

ER -