Exposure to heat stress in the workplace: A systematic review

Abstract

Background and aims: Working in hot environments is one of the common physical risks factor in the workplace, which can also cause heat-related illnesses and various health effects on workers, and also increasing the risk of injuries and occupational accidents. The purpose of this paper is review conducted studies about heat stress in different countries, investigation the indices of heat stress, the characteristics of the exposure in hot environments, high-risk occupations, and sutvey the status and importance of these studies. Methods: In this review study used Web of Science, Scopus, Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Iran Medex, Magiran, Google Scholar and SID databases. The keywordsincluded Heat stress, Heat strain, Heat exposure, Heat waves, Workplace, Knowledge and attitude of workers about heat stress, the period of 2000 to 2015 was investigated, and finally 103 original articles were identifed. Results: 90 of all study being cross-sectional studies, 41 being related to outdoor workplaces, and 42 being related to indoor environment. 19 studies were about perceptions and behavioural responses of exposure to heat stress.A range of heat indices were used with 60 (71) studies using Wet Bulb Globe Temperature Index (WBGT). Most of studied focused on manufacturing workers and farmers. Most of studies indicated that workers were suffering from heat stress and strain. Conclusion: The results of reviewed studies showed that stress in workplace is worrying due to the nature of the working processes both indoor and outdoor, and of climate change. Therefore it is necessary to considering preventive and control programs to reduce the heat stress by the management and staff's participation to eliminate or reduce its lethal effects. © 2018 JTehran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services. All rights reserved.