A Multi-Level Approach to Heat-Related Illness Prevention in Agricultural Workers

NCT04234802 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: STUDY000002382U54OH007544-16
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 86
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The project's primary aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-level heat prevention approach in reducing adverse heat health effects in outdoor agricultural workers The secondary aims are to:

• Test the effectiveness of an individual-level training component designed to reduce adverse heat health effects in outdoor agricultural workers
• Evaluate the effectiveness of a workplace supervisor-level heat awareness application intended to support supervisor decisions to reduce the risk of workers experiencing adverse heat health effects

Conditions

Heat Stress Disorders

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Heat-related Illness Symptoms

  Heat symptoms will be assessed using a short survey conducted in Spanish or English that includes questions about heat-related illness symptoms experienced over the past week. Participants will select one or more symptoms (or select 'none') from a list.

  Approximately three months

• Heat Strain

  The body's physiological response to heat stress. Core body temperature (degrees C) will be estimated using personal baseline temperature and continuous heart rate during work shifts on several days.

  Approximately three months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Pre/post Knowledge Assessment

  Approximately three months

• Pre/post Supervisor Survey

  Approximately three months

Study Arms (2)

HEAT intervention group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Workers in the intervention group will receive the HEAT training, and supervisors in the intervention group will receive the HEAT awareness application and training on how to use it.

Other: Heat Education and Awareness Tools

Comparison group

NO INTERVENTION

The comparison group will not be offered HEAT trainings or the HEAT awareness application. They will be offered an alternative training on another topic.

Interventions

Heat Education and Awareness Tools OTHER

HEAT training will be delivered to agricultural workers by research staff in this study in the spring. HEAT training uses interactive approaches to engage participants and posters with visuals. Training covers types of heat-related illness and treatments, risk factors, appropriate clothing and hydration, and keeping cool in the home and community. The HEAT awareness application was developed in collaboration with Washington State University's AgWeatherNet Program to notify supervisors signed up for the service about hot weather conditions that might increase the risk for adverse health effects for workers. The HEAT awareness application is designed to allow subscribers to select weather stations of interest and view current heat indices as well as maximum daily heat indices forecasted over the following week. This information is coupled with information about health effects and prevention of adverse heat health effects. Materials are provided in English and Spanish.

HEAT intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Speak English or Spanish, live in same dwelling and work at same farm for the season, farm where participant works must agree to collaborate

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Washington: lead
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH/CDC): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Farms (confidential)

Yakima, Washington, 98902, United States

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Chavez Santos E, Spector JT, Egbert J, Krenz J, Sampson PD, Palmandez P, Torres E, Blancas M, Carmona J, Jung J, Flunker JC. The effect of the participatory heat education and awareness tools (HEAT) intervention on agricultural worker physiological heat strain: results from a parallel, comparison, group randomized study. BMC Public Health. 2022 Sep 15;22(1):1746. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14144-2.

  PMID: 36104813 DERIVED

• Marquez D, Krenz JE, Chavez Santos E, Torres E, Palmandez P, Sampson PD, Blancas M, Carmona J, Spector JT. The Effect of Participatory Heat Education on Agricultural Worker Knowledge. J Agromedicine. 2023 Apr;28(2):187-198. doi: 10.1080/1059924X.2022.2058667. Epub 2022 Apr 17.

  PMID: 35345983 DERIVED

• Krenz J, Santos EC, Torres E, Palmandez P, Carmona J, Blancas M, Marquez D, Sampson P, Spector JT. The multi-level heat education and awareness tools [HEAT] intervention study for farmworkers: Rationale and methods. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2021 Jun 8;22:100795. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2021.100795. eCollection 2021 Jun.

  PMID: 34169175 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Heat Stress Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Wounds and Injuries

Study Officials

• June T Spector, MD, MPH

  University of Washington

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences; Department of Medicine

Model Details: The study is a parallel, comparison, group intervention study to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-level Heat Education and Awareness Tools (HEAT) intervention, consisting of worker training and a supervisor heat awareness application, on reducing adverse heat health effects in agricultural workers across a growing season.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 14, 2020
• First Posted: January 21, 2020
• Study Start: May 22, 2019
• Primary Completion: August 31, 2021
• Study Completion: September 30, 2021
• Last Updated: May 17, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Data will be available after primary analyses are completed, approximately 1-2 years after data collection is completed. Data will be available indefinitely.

Locations

US (1)