A Web Survey to Evaluate the Thermal Stress Associated with Personal Protective Equipment among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

Alessandro Messeri, Michela Bonafede, Emma Pietrafesa, Iole Pinto, Francesca de’Donato, Alfonso Crisci, Jason Kai Wei Lee, Alessandro Marinaccio, Miriam Levi, Marco Morabito and on behalf of the WORKLIMATE Collaborative Group
Additional contact information
Alessandro Messeri: Institute of Bioeconomy, National Research Council (IBE-CNR), 50019 Florence, Italy
Michela Bonafede: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00143 Rome, Italy
Emma Pietrafesa: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00143 Rome, Italy
Iole Pinto: Physical Agents Sector, Regional Public Health Laboratory, 53100 Siena, Italy
Francesca de’Donato: Department of Epidemiology Lazio Regional Health Service, ASL ROMA 1, 00147 Rome, Italy
Alfonso Crisci: Institute of Bioeconomy, National Research Council (IBE-CNR), 50019 Florence, Italy
Jason Kai Wei Lee: Human Potential Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117593, Singapore
Alessandro Marinaccio: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene Department, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), 00143 Rome, Italy
Miriam Levi: Epidemiology Unit, Department of Prevention, Central Tuscany Local Health Authority, 50135 Florence, Italy
Marco Morabito: Institute of Bioeconomy, National Research Council (IBE-CNR), 50019 Florence, Italy
on behalf of the WORKLIMATE Collaborative Group: Membership of the WORKLIMATE Collaborative Group is provided in the Acknowledgments.

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-21

Abstract: The pandemic has been afflicting the planet for over a year and from the occupational point of view, healthcare workers have recorded a substantial increase in working hours. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE), necessary to keep safe from COVID-19 increases the chances of overheating, especially during the summer seasons which, due to climate change, are becoming increasingly warm and prolonged. A web survey was carried out in Italy within the WORKLIMATE project during the summer and early autumn 2020. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate differences between groups. 191 questionnaires were collected (hospital doctor 38.2%, nurses 33.5%, other healthcare professionals 28.3%). The impact of PPE on the thermal stress perception declared by the interviewees was very high on the body areas directly covered by these devices (78% of workers). Workers who used masks for more than 4 h per day perceived PPE as more uncomfortable ( p < 0.001) compared to the others and reported a greater productivity loss ( p < 0.001). Furthermore, the study highlighted a high perception of thermal stress among healthcare workers that worn COVID-19-PPE and this enhances the need for appropriate heat health warning systems and response measures addressed to the occupational sector.

Keywords: occupational safety and health; adaptation strategy; PPE; global warming; heat stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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