Environmental Ergonomics Research Centre, Loughborough University, Design School, Loughborough, UK.
Ann Work Expo Health. 2020 Nov 16;64(9):915-922. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxaa082.
Treatment 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.
治疗和管理导致冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2 需要增加医护和工业人员穿戴个人防护设备（PPE）。在温暖的工作环境中，PPE 的额外负担威胁着工人的健康和生产力，这是在西非埃博拉疫情期间吸取的主要教训，最终限制了疾病的控制。在本文中，我们评论了 COVID-19 PPE 与职业性热应激之间的联系、可用的缓解职业性热应激的冷却解决方案，以及围绕它们的效果和可行性的实际考虑因素。虽然冷却解决方案的选择取决于工作的背景和实际情况，但减轻职业性热应激有益于在 COVID-19 疾病爆发期间医护和工业部门的工人。
