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

Author

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  • Alessandro Messeri

    (Institute of Bioeconomy, National Research Council (IBE-CNR), 50019 Florence, Italy
    Centre of Bioclimatology, University of Florence (UNIFI), 50144 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
    Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore S117593, Singapore
    Global Asia Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore S119076, Singapore
    N.1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore S117456, 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
    Centre of Bioclimatology, University of Florence (UNIFI), 50144 Florence, Italy)

  • on behalf of the WORKLIMATE Collaborative Group

    (Membership of the WORKLIMATE Collaborative Group is provided in the Acknowledgments.)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Messeri & Michela Bonafede & Emma Pietrafesa & Iole Pinto & Francesca de’Donato & Alfonso Crisci & Jason Kai Wei Lee & Alessandro Marinaccio & Miriam Levi & Marco Morabito & on behalf of th, 2021. "A Web Survey to Evaluate the Thermal Stress Associated with Personal Protective Equipment among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-21, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:8:p:3861-:d:531510
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Veruscka Leso & Luca Fontana & Ivo Iavicoli, 2021. "Susceptibility to Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Occupational Settings: The Complex Interplay between Individual and Workplace Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Jimmy Lee & Vidhya Venugopal & P K Latha & Sharifah Badriyah Alhadad & Clarence Hong Wei Leow & Nicholas Yong De Goh & Esther Tan & Tord Kjellstrom & Marco Morabito & Jason Kai Wei Lee, 2020. "Heat Stress and Thermal Perception amongst Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in India and Singapore," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-12, November.
    3. Marco Morabito & Alessandro Messeri & Pascal Noti & Ana Casanueva & Alfonso Crisci & Sven Kotlarski & Simone Orlandini & Cornelia Schwierz & Christoph Spirig & Boris R.M. Kingma & Andreas D. Flouris &, 2019. "An Occupational Heat–Health Warning System for Europe: The HEAT-SHIELD Platform," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-21, August.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Coen C. W. G. Bongers & Johannus Q. de Korte & Mike Zwartkruis & Koen Levels & Boris R. M. Kingma & Thijs M. H. Eijsvogels, 2022. "Heat Strain and Use of Heat Mitigation Strategies among COVID-19 Healthcare Workers Wearing Personal Protective Equipment—A Retrospective Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-11, February.
    3. Claudia Westermann & Nika Zielinski & Christiane Altenburg & Madeleine Dulon & Olaf Kleinmüller & Jan Felix Kersten & Albert Nienhaus, 2022. "Prevalence of Adverse Skin Reactions in Nursing Staff Due to Personal Protective Equipment during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-14, October.
    4. Yingying Zhao & Meng Su & Xin Meng & Jiying Liu & Faming Wang, 2022. "Thermophysiological and Perceptual Responses of Amateur Healthcare Workers: Impacts of Ambient Condition, Inner-Garment Insulation and Personal Cooling Strategy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, December.

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