Implementing an Intervention to Reduce Heat Stress and Chemical Exposures

NCT06442969 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: HS-2024-0081
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The investigators are studying the dangers that farmworkers face while working in the fields and at home. The investigators goals are:

1. 1.Measure how much heat and chemicals farmworkers in Imperial County are exposed to.
2. 2.Provide help to lower heat and chemical exposure with the help of community health workers.
3. 3.Measure heat and chemicals again using the same methods to see if the project made a difference.
4. 4.Talk to participants about what they liked and how the investigators can make future projects better.

Conditions

Dehydration; Heat Stress

Keywords

Farm worker; Heat exposure; Chemical exposure; Agricultural worker; Take-home exposure

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Individual heat stress

  Skin temperature in degrees Celsius derived from skin temperature monitor worn against the participant's skin.

  Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention

• Participant household temperature

  Household temperature in degrees Celsius, derived from weather monitor placed in the participant's home.

  Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention

• Participant hydration level

  Specific gravity of participant's urine

  Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention

• Concentration of chemicals measured in silicon wristband worn by study participant

  Participants will be asked to wear a silicon wristbands twice; once at baseline and again after the intervention. The research team will collect the wristbands and transport them to San Diego State University for analysis of different classes of chemicals, including pesticides, organophosphates, pyrethroids, and legacy pollutants. The chemicals adhered to the wristbands will be extracted in ethyl acetate and then passed through a solid-phase extraction. Extracts will be analyzed using a two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry at San Diego State University. The final concentration of each chemical will be expressed as nanograms per gram of wristband.

  Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention

• Concentration of chemicals measured in silicon wristbands hung in the participant's household.

  Silicon wristbands will be hung in participants' homes twice; once at baseline and again after the intervention. The research team will collect the wristbands and transport them to San Diego State University for analysis of different classes of chemicals, including pesticides, organophosphates, pyrethroids, and legacy pollutants. The chemicals adhered to the wristbands will be extracted in ethyl acetate and then passed through a solid-phase extraction. Extracts will be analyzed using a two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry at San Diego State University. The final concentration of each chemical will be expressed as nanograms per gram of wristband.

  Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention

• Concentration of chemicals measured in participant's household dust collected with a vacuum

  The research team will visit the participant's home twice to collect the dust samples of the living area using a vacuum; once at baseline and again after the intervention. After collection, the research team will transport the dust samples to San Diego State University to measure the concentrations of different classes of chemicals, including pesticides, organophosphates, pyrethroids, and legacy pollutants. The chemicals in the dust will be extracted in ethyl acetate and then passed through a solid-phase extraction. Extracts will be analyzed using a two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry at San Diego State University. The final concentration of each chemical will be expressed as nanograms per gram of dust.

  Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention

Study Arms (1)

All participants

OTHER

All participants will receive the intervention

Other: Education and resources provided by community health workers

Interventions

Education and resources provided by community health workers OTHER

The intervention will consist of implementing existing tools provided by EPA's Design for the Environment program, CalOSHA and NIOSH sector-specific guidance for agricultural workers, the Imperial County Department of Public Health and materials from California Department of Toxics Substances Control. The investigators will utilize and adjust existing educational tools such as the Heat Illness Prevention plan developed by CalOSHA. In addition to the educational materials, the investigators will give each farmworker cooling working gear to be worn during their work-shift with (specialized clothes that has been used in other occupational settings). The investigators will provide all participants with a low-cost fan filter, known as Corsi-Rosenthal box built jointly by the community health/research team to reduce chemicals at home, and a small A/C unit to reduce heat stress.

All participants

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Currently living in Imperial County, California, USA
• Currently work in agriculture
• Plan on living in Imperial Valley for the next 6 months

You may not qualify if:

• Not currently living in Imperial County, California, USA
• Not currently working in agriculture
• Not planning to live in Imperial Valley for the next 6 months

Sponsors & Collaborators

• San Diego State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Lideres Campesinas Imperial

El Centro, California, 92243, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Dehydration; Heat Stress Disorders

Interventions

Educational Status

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Water-Electrolyte Imbalance; Metabolic Diseases; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Wounds and Injuries

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Socioeconomic Factors; Population Characteristics

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 13, 2024
• First Posted: June 5, 2024
• Study Start: June 7, 2024
• Primary Completion: December 15, 2025
• Study Completion: December 15, 2025
• Last Updated: April 16, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)