COVID-19 PPE and cooling solutions accepted version.pdf (227.78 kB)
Occupational heat stress and practical cooling solutions for healthcare and industry workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
journal contribution
posted on 2020-09-22, 14:59 authored by Josh Foster, Simon HodderSimon Hodder, James Goodwin, George HavenithGeorge HavenithTreatment and management of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, which causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19), requires increased adoption of personal protective equipment (PPE) to be worn by workers in healthcare and industry. In warm occupational settings, the added burden of PPE threatens worker health and productivity, a major lesson learned during the West-African Ebola outbreak which ultimately constrained disease control. In this paper, we comment on the link between COVID-19 PPE and occupational heat strain, cooling solutions available to mitigate occupational heat stress, and practical considerations surrounding their effectiveness and feasibility. While the choice of cooling solution depends on the context of the work and what is practical, mitigating occupational heat stress benefits workers in the healthcare and industrial sectors during the COVID-19 disease outbreak.
Funding
This work forms part of the HEAT-SHIELD project, receiving funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the grant agreement no. 668786.
History
School
- Design and Creative Arts
Department
- Design
Published in
Annals of Work Exposures and HealthVolume
64Issue
9Pages
915 - 922Publisher
Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene SocietyVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© The AuthorsPublisher statement
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Annals of Work Exposures and Health following peer review. The version of record Josh Foster, Simon G Hodder, James Goodwin, George Havenith, Occupational Heat Stress and Practical Cooling Solutions for Healthcare and Industry Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Annals of Work Exposures and Health, Volume 64, Issue 9, November 2020, Pages 915–922, is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxaa082.Acceptance date
2020-07-29Publication date
2020-09-21Copyright date
2020ISSN
2398-7308eISSN
2398-7316Publisher version
Language
- en
Depositor
Prof George Havenith. Deposit date: 22 September 2020Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedLicence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC