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Heat Strain and Use of Heat Mitigation Strategies among COVID-19 Healthcare Workers Wearing Personal Protective Equipment—A Retrospective Study

Author

Listed:
  • Coen C. W. G. Bongers

    (Department of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Philips van Leijdenlaan 15, 6525 EX Nijmegen, The Netherlands
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Johannus Q. de Korte

    (Department of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Philips van Leijdenlaan 15, 6525 EX Nijmegen, The Netherlands
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Mike Zwartkruis

    (Department of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Philips van Leijdenlaan 15, 6525 EX Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

  • Koen Levels

    (Institute of Training Medicine and Training Physiology, TGTF, Royal Netherlands Army, Herculeslaan 1, 3584 AB Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Boris R. M. Kingma

    (Department of Human Performance, Unit Defence, Safety and Security, TNO, The Netherlands Organization for Applied Sciences, Kampweg 55, 3769 DE Soesterberg, The Netherlands
    Department of Energy Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, Groene Loper 19, 5612 AP Eindhoven, The Netherlands)

  • Thijs M. H. Eijsvogels

    (Department of Physiology, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Philips van Leijdenlaan 15, 6525 EX Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

The combination of an exacerbated workload and impermeable nature of the personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by COVID-19 healthcare workers increases heat strain. We aimed to compare the prevalence of heat strain symptoms before (routine care without PPE) versus during the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19 care with PPE), identify risk factors associated with experiencing heat strain, and evaluate the access to and use of heat mitigation strategies. Dutch healthcare workers (n = 791) working at COVID-19 wards for ≥1 week, completed an online questionnaire to assess personal characteristics, heat strain symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the access to and use of heat mitigation strategies. Healthcare workers experienced ~25× more often heat strain symptoms during medical duties with PPE (93% of healthcare workers) compared to without PPE (30% of healthcare workers; OR = 25.57 (95% CI = 18.17–35.98)). Female healthcare workers and those with an age <40 years were most affected by heat strain, whereas exposure time and sports activity level were not significantly associated with heat strain prevalence. Cold drinks and ice slurry ingestion were the most frequently used heat mitigation strategies and were available in 63.5% and 30.1% of participants, respectively. Our findings indicate that heat strain is a major challenge for COVID-19 healthcare workers, and heat mitigations strategies are often used to counteract heat strain.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1905-:d:744619
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    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. Ryuichi Ohta & Yoshinori Ryu & Chiaki Sano, 2021. "Effects of Implementation of Infection Control Measures against COVID-19 on the Condition of Japanese Rural Nursing Homes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-9, May.
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