Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Takoradi Technical University, Takoradi, Western Region, Ghana.
Int J Biometeorol. 2020 Jul;64(7):1085-1101. doi: 10.1007/s00484-020-01882-4. Epub 2020 Mar 4.
Increasing temperature and climate warming impacts are aggravating the vulnerability of workers to occupational heat stress. Adaptation and social protection strategies have become crucial to enhance workers' health, safety, productive capacity and social lives. However, the effective implementation of work-related heat stress adaptation mechanisms appears to be receiving little attention. This study assessed the barriers to occupational heat stress adaptation and social protection strategies of mining workers in Ghana. Based on a mixed methods approach, focus group discussions and questionnaires were used to elicit data from 320 mining workers. Workers' adaptation strategies (water intake, wearing loose and light-coloured clothing, participating in training programmes, taking regular breaks, use of mechanical equipment, use of cooling systems and housing designs) varied significantly across the type of mining activity (p < .001). Workers' social protection measures were adequate. The disparities in workers' social protection measures significantly differed across the type of mining activity (p < .001). Barriers of workers to the implementation of relevant adaptation strategies (inadequate knowledge of coping and adaptive behaviour, lack of regular training on adaptation measures, lack of specific heat-related policy regulations, lack of management commitment and the lack of access to innovative technology and equipment) also differed across the type of mining activity (p < .001). Adaptation policy options and recommendations centred on overcoming the barriers that constrain the adaptive capacity of workers and employers have the potential to reduce workers' vulnerability to occupational heat stress.
随着温度的升高和气候变暖的影响加剧，工人面临职业性热应激的脆弱性也在增加。适应和社会保护策略对于提高工人的健康、安全、生产能力和社会生活质量变得至关重要。然而，与工作相关的热应激适应机制的有效实施似乎并未得到足够重视。本研究评估了加纳采矿工人职业性热应激适应和社会保护策略的障碍。本研究采用混合方法，通过焦点小组讨论和问卷调查从 320 名矿工中收集数据。矿工的适应策略（饮水、穿着宽松和浅色衣服、参加培训计划、定期休息、使用机械设备、使用冷却系统和住房设计）因采矿活动类型而异（p<0.001）。工人的社会保护措施是充足的。矿工的社会保护措施在不同的采矿活动类型之间存在显著差异（p<0.001）。工人实施相关适应策略的障碍（应对和适应行为的知识不足、缺乏适应措施的定期培训、缺乏特定的与热相关的政策法规、缺乏管理层的承诺以及缺乏创新技术和设备）也因采矿活动类型而异（p<0.001）。适应政策选项和建议集中在克服限制工人和雇主适应能力的障碍上，有可能降低工人对职业性热应激的脆弱性。
