Workplace Intervention for Heat Stress: Essential Elements of Design, Implementation, and Assessment

Jason Glaser, David H. Wegman, Esteban Arias-Monge, Felipe Pacheco-Zenteno, Heath Prince, Denis Chavarria, William Jose Martinez-Cuadra, Kristina Jakobsson, Erik Hansson, Rebekah A. I. Lucas, Ilana Weiss and Catharina Wesseling
Additional contact information
Jason Glaser: La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA
David H. Wegman: La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Esteban Arias-Monge: La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Felipe Pacheco-Zenteno: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
Heath Prince: Ray Marshall Center, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, 3001 Lake Austin Blvd., Ste. 3.200, Austin, TX 78703, USA
Denis Chavarria: Occupational Health, Ingenio San Antonio, Chinandega 26100, Nicaragua
William Jose Martinez-Cuadra: La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Kristina Jakobsson: La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Erik Hansson: La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Rebekah A. I. Lucas: La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Ilana Weiss: La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Catharina Wesseling: La Isla Network, 2219 California Ave NW, #52, Washington, DC 20008, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Heat stress is associated with numerous health effects that potentially harm workers, especially in a warming world. This investigation occurred in a setting where laborers are confronted with occupational heat stress from physically demanding work in high environmental temperatures. Collaboration with a major Nicaraguan sugarcane producer offered the opportunity to study interventions to prevent occupational heat-stress-related kidney disease. Two aims for this study of a rest-shade-water intervention program were: (1) describe the evolving intervention, summarize findings that motivated proposed improvements, assess impact of those improvements, and identify challenges to successful implementation and (2) extract primary lessons learned about intervention research that have both general relevance to investigations of work-related disease prevention and specific relevance to this setting. The learning curve for the various stakeholders as well as the barriers to success demonstrate that effectiveness of an intervention cannot be adequately assessed without considerations of implementation. Designing, effectively implementing, and assessing both health impacts and implementation quality is a resource-intensive endeavor requiring a transdisciplinary approach. Both general and specific lessons learned are presented for decisions on study design and study elements, implementation assessment, and management engagement in understanding how productivity and health can be successfully balanced and for building effective communication between investigators and all levels of management.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease; heat stress; workplace intervention; occupational health implementation; acute kidney injury; agriculture; occupational exposure; effectiveness; rest-shade-water; occupational health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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