Examining Management and Employees’ Perceptions of Occupational Heat Exposure and the Effectiveness of a Heat Stress Prevention Intervention on Safety and Well-Being among Natural Gas Construction Workers: A Qualitative Field-Based Study

Muinat Abolore Idris (), Christine Markham, Kristina D. Mena and William B. Perkison
Additional contact information
Muinat Abolore Idris: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Christine Markham: Department of Human Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Kristina D. Mena: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Houston, TX 77030, USA
William B. Perkison: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Houston, TX 77030, USA

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: Background: Numerous risk factors have been identified as significantly influencing outdoor workers’ risk for heat stress and heat-related conditions, impacting their health, well-being, and productivity. However, the specific effects of these factors on construction workers’ safety, health, and well-being remain under-researched. With climate change increasing temperatures, assessing heat stress among construction workers is imperative. Objective: To identify the barriers and facilitators influencing the safety of natural gas construction workers and evaluate an implemented heat stress intervention. Methods: In the summer of 2023, two semi-structured interviews and six focus groups were conducted with twenty-one stakeholders at a Texas natural gas construction site. Results: Key facilitators include employee preparedness, use of employer-provided resources, hydration logs, and real-time communication tools. Contrarily, the barriers include daily work schedules, access to dehydrating beverages, and generational differences with the non-implementation of mandatory rest breaks. The heat stress program was perceived as effective, surpassing recommended guidelines. Conclusion: To advance construction workers’ safety, health, and well-being, both employee involvement and employer management are needed, along with no-cost accessible resources. Additionally, implementing a required routine rest break and comprehensive heat stress education, particularly for older workers, will significantly promote safety and safe work practices in hot environments. Note: in this study, the terms ‘worker’ and ‘employee’ are used interchangeably.

Keywords: heat stress; construction workers; heat stress prevention program; heat-related conditions; worker safety; well-being; facilitators; barriers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/9/1255/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/9/1255/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:9:p:1255-:d:1482768

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().