Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Oct 25:12:1477186.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1477186. eCollection 2024.

Effectiveness of heat stress interventions among outdoor workers: a protocol paper

Sajeeth Kumar Sankar  1 , Vijayalakshmi P  2 , Krishnan S  3 , Rekha Shanmugam  1 , Latha Perumal Kamalakkanan  1 , Vidhya Venugopal  1
Affiliations

Effectiveness of heat stress interventions among outdoor workers: a protocol paper

Sajeeth Kumar Sankar et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Heavy work in scorching temperatures can cause dehydration and heat stress, which can lead to a number of heat-related diseases. Heavy work in intense heat without rest or hydration is the main cause. The "Water, Rest, Shade" (WRS) intervention program for outdoor workers in hot weather reduces heat stress.

Methods: This study follows a quasi-experimental design involving 250 outdoor workers from both agriculture and brick kilns. To assess the environmental heat exposure levels, Quest Temp 3 M WBGT Monitor will be used. Tympanic temperature, Heart rate (HR), Sweat rate (SwR), and Urine specific gravity (USG) to assess the physiological responses to heat exposure using standard protocols. Blood samples will be collected to measure serum creatinine and calculate Glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and urine samples to measure pH, leucocytes, proteinuria, and hematuria. Then administer a validated and modified HOTHAPS questionnaire to capture the perception data. After the baseline assessments, Categorize the workers into two groups based on the selection criteria and the participants' willingness. Then provide a week-long WRS intervention to the intervention group (IG). The non-intervention group will collect the same data without any intervention to assess the efficacy of the intervention by comparing both groups and measuring outcome indicators.

Expected outcome: The study will generate much-needed information to raise awareness of the importance of heat stress prevention for outdoor workers.

Conclusion: This study will demonstrate the effectiveness of an intervention, provide much-needed strategies for reducing heat stress, assess both health impacts and implementation quality, and design comprehensive workplace and labor laws aim to minimise risks to millions of unorganised outdoor workers health.

Keywords: WRS; heat stress; intervention; outdoor workers; physiological heat strain.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Human thermal imbalance.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Work-flow chart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Gay-Antaki M, Liverman D. Climate for women in climate science: women scientists and the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Proc Natl Acad Sci. (2018) 115:2060–5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1710271115, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kjellstrom T, Crowe J. Climate change, workplace heat exposure, and occupational health and productivity in Central America. Int J Occup Environ Health. (2011) 17:270–81. doi: 10.1179/oeh.2011.17.3.270, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lundgren K, Kuklane K, Gao C, Holmer I. Effects of heat stress on working populations when facing climate change. Ind Health. (2013) 51:3–15. doi: 10.2486/indhealth.2012-0089, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mcmichael AJ, Woodruff RE, Hales S. Climate change and human health: present and future risks. Lancet. (2006) 367:859–69. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68079-3 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Srinivasan K, Maruthy K, Venugopal V, Ramaswamy P. Research in occupational heat stress in India: challenges and opportunities. Indian J Occup Environ Med. (2016) 20:73–8. doi: 10.4103/0019-5278.197522, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of the article is from “Founder- Chancellor Shri. NPV Ramasamy Udayar Research Fellowship”.

LinkOut - more resources