Heat Exposure in Central Florida Fernery Workers: Results of a Feasibility Study

Mac, Valerie; Tovar-Aguilar, J. Antonio; Flocks, Joan; Economos, Eugenia; Hertzberg, Vicki; McCauley, Linda

doi:10.1080/1059924x.2017.1282906

Cited by 32 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is important to note that the findings from this project are applicable on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, as the population, working conditions, migratory status, and climate are very similar. However, the workers included in this study were considerably younger than agricultural workers in studies that have taken place in the U.S. [43][44][45].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The PSI incorporates heart rate and rectal temperature, or core body temperature, and is contained within a scale of 1-10 [49]. Similarly, over half of 43 participants enrolled in a 2012-2013 fernery worker study in Florida, U.S. exceeded 38 • C at some point during the workday, with one worker's core body temperature reaching 38.9 • C [45].…”

Section: Heat Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

An Occupational Heat Stress and Hydration Assessment of Agricultural Workers in North Mexico

Wagoner

López-Gálvez

Zapien

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Expanding agribusiness in Northern Mexico has increased demand for workers from Southern Mexico, with hundreds of thousands migrating for work annually. Extreme temperatures, physical labor, and low fluid consumption place workers at risk for heat strain and dehydration, commonly underreported hazards in the agricultural industry. The objectives of this pilot study were to assess heat exposure and hydration status of a population of migratory agricultural workers in Northern Mexico throughout the grape harvest season. In addition to demographic information, environmental conditions, hydration status, and core body temperatures were collected. The majority listed Chiapas as their home state, nearly half spoke an Indigenous language, and none had completed high school. The wet-bulb globe temperature was significantly higher during the harvest and post-harvest seasons compared to the pre-harvest season. Across the different seasons, the majority were dehydrated post-shift, and mean core body temperature of workers was not significantly different. This project highlights the need for targeted interventions to improve hydration and prevent heat stress in this region. As the number of warm days is expected to rise each year worldwide, it will be increasingly important to engage in practices to protect vulnerable populations, such as migratory agriculture workers.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Heat Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Occupational Heat Stress and Hydration Assessment of Agricultural Workers in North Mexico

Wagoner

López-Gálvez

Zapien

et al. 2020

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Successful interventions for farmworkers must be based on knowledge of the pattern and prevalence of such symptoms in the population. Although we have previously reported on the strong community interest in health effects associated with working in hot environments (Flocks, Kelley, Economos, & McCauley, ; Mac et al., ), more research is needed to develop, implement, and evaluate successful, culturally appropriate interventions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classification of Heat‐Related Illness Symptoms Among Florida Farmworkers

Mutic

Mix

Elon

et al. 2017

J of Nursing Scholarship

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Farmworkers working in hot and humid environments have an increased risk for heat-related illness (HRI) if their thermoregulatory capabilities are overwhelmed. The manifestation of heat-related symptoms can escalate into life-threatening events. Increasing ambient air temperatures resulting from climate change will only exacerbate HRI in vulnerable populations. We characterize HRI symptoms experienced by farmworkers in three Florida communities. Methods: A total of 198 farmworkers enrolled in 2015-2016 were asked to recall if they experienced seven HRI symptoms during the previous work week. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between selected sociodemographic characteristics and reporting three or more symptoms. Latent class analysis was used to identify classes of symptoms representing the HRI severity range. We examined sociodemographic characteristics of the farmworkers across the latent classes. Results: The mean age (±SD) of farmworkers was 38.0 (±8) years; the majority were female (60%) and Hispanic (86%). Most frequently reported symptoms were heavy sweating (66%), headache (58%), dizziness (32%), and muscle cramps (30%). Females had three times the odds of experiencing three or more symptoms (OR = 2.86, 95% CI 1.18-6.89). Symptoms fell into three latent classes, which included mild (heavy sweating; class probability = 54%), moderate (heavy sweating, headache, nausea, and dizziness; class probability = 24%), and severe (heavy sweating, headache, nausea, dizziness, muscle cramps; class probability = 22%). Conclusions: Farmworkers reported a high burden of HRI symptoms that appear to cluster in physiologic patterns. Unrecognized accumulation of symptoms can escalate into life-threatening situations if untreated. Our research can inform interventions to promote early recognition of HRI, on-site care, and appropriate occupational health policy. Administrative or engineering workplace controls may also reduce the manifestation of HRI.

show abstract

“…Despite the history of research centered on other groups, heat stress remains an understudied but important occupational hazard for agricultural workers (Flocks et al., ). Recently work has begun to characterize HRI in farmworkers utilizing surveys (Bethel & Harger, ; Fleischer et al., ; Mirabelli et al., ; Spector, Krenz, & Blank, ), analyses of a longitudinal database of visit records from community and migrant health centers (C/MHCs; Cooper et al., ; Zhang, Arauz, Chen, & Cooper, ), and field‐based continuous biomonitoring (Hertzberg et al., ; Mac et al., ). Research exploring the relationship between personal physiologic factors and outdoor work in agricultural settings has the potential to advance the state of the science for climate adaptation, specifically human physiologic responses to environmental heat.…”

Section: Heat Stress Response Components Definedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmworker Vulnerability to Heat Hazards: A Conceptual Framework

Mac

McCauley

2017

J of Nursing Scholarship

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose To review factors that impact the effect of hot environments on the human body in order to develop a conceptual model of human biological response. Methods The organizing concept for the model development was the multilevel integration of three major factors, exposure to heat, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, and the heat stress response. Exposure of a vulnerable occupational group was used to illustrate the components of the model. Findings Components of this framework include the hazard (environmental heat stress), vulnerability factors (workplace exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity), and the heat stress response. The combination of the vulnerability factors of workplace exposure (work intensity, duration), sensitivity (age, gender, etc.), and adaptive capacity (hydration, clothing, work hygiene) mediate a worker’s heat stress response to the hazard. A worker’s heat stress response can be classified as progressing towards two outcomes: physiologic equilibrium or physiologic disequilibrium. Conclusions This framework provides a starting point for the design and development of studies of heat-related illness (HRI) in farmworker and other vulnerable populations exposed to rising global temperatures.

show abstract

Heat Exposure in Central Florida Fernery Workers: Results of a Feasibility Study

Cited by 32 publications

References 19 publications

An Occupational Heat Stress and Hydration Assessment of Agricultural Workers in North Mexico

An Occupational Heat Stress and Hydration Assessment of Agricultural Workers in North Mexico

Classification of Heat‐Related Illness Symptoms Among Florida Farmworkers

Farmworker Vulnerability to Heat Hazards: A Conceptual Framework

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About