Impacts of Climate Change and Heat Stress on Farmworkers' Health: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Due to the continuous rise of global temperatures and heatwaves worldwide as a result of climate change, concerns for the health and safety of working populations have increased. Workers in the food production chain, particularly farmworkers, are especially vulnerable to heat stress due to the strenuous nature of their work, which is performed primarily outdoors under poor working conditions. At the cross-section of climate change and farmworkers' health, a scoping review was undertaken to summarize the existing knowledge regarding the health impacts associated with climate change and heat stress, guide future research toward better understanding current and future climate change risks, and inform policies to protect the health and safety of agricultural workers. A systematic search of 5 electronic databases and gray literature websites was conducted to identify relevant literature published up until December 2021. A total of 9045 records were retrieved from the searches, of which 92 articles were included in the final review. The majority of the reviewed articles focused on heat-related illnesses (n = 57) and kidney diseases (n = 28). The risk factors identified in the reviewed studies included gender, dehydration, heat strain, wearing inappropriate clothing, workload, piece-rate payment, job decision latitude, and hot environmental conditions. On the other hand, various protective and preventive factors were identified including drinking water, changing work hours and schedule of activities, wearing appropriate clothing, reducing soda consumption, taking breaks in shaded or air-conditioned areas, and increasing electrolyte consumption in addition to improving access to medical care. This review also identified various factors that are unique to vulnerable agricultural populations, including migrant and child farmworkers. Our findings call for an urgent need to expand future research on vulnerable agricultural communities including migrant workers so as to develop effective policies and interventions that can protect these communities from the effects of heat stress.

Climate Change, Heat, and Farmworker Health

“…Consistent with previous research (El Khayat et al, 2022;Mac & McCauley, 2017), our work through the Michigan Farmworker Project (Handal et al, 2020) identified farmworker's health concerns due to prolonged heat and sun exposure including nausea, tiredness, dizziness, and fainting. Participants reported using hats and long-sleeved shirts to avoid potential burns and heat exposure.…”

Relationship of Noise Intensity, Heat Stress, and Physical Workload to Workers' Health Complaints at Semarang Timber Factory

“…If the noise continues daily and for a long time, it can cause hearing and non-hearing disorders [11]. It happens in the Semarang wood factory, which is issued by industrial machines continuously and can cause disturbances or human health complaints [12].…”

Global conflict escalation during the pandemic, climate, and economic dilemmas: Healthcare sustainability challenges in conflict zones and elsewhere

“…For instance, a one-degree celsius increase in global temperature may result in more than 100,000 new cases of diabetes each year in the USA alone (Mohiuddin, 2020a) and six times more premature deaths among respiratory patients compared to the general population (D'Amato et al, 2015) (Figure 3). Also, occupational heat-related mortality is 35 times higher among agricultural workers compared to workers from other industries (El Khayat et al, 2022)…”