Work Design Interventions for Heat Resilience

NCT06599788 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: STUDY00112233
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 32
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The goal of this project is to compare different ways to schedule a workday to see if older workers should follow a specific work protocol to reduce strain on the heart and muscles. Participants will come to the lab a total of six times. During four of the visits participants will complete a box carrying task, simulating unloading a delivery truck. This will take place in a hot and humid room to simulate being outdoors during the summer.

Conditions

Hyperthermia; Fatigue; Heat; Work-Related Condition

Keywords

hyperthermia; worker; fatigue

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Cardiac Troponin

  Serum cardiac troponin concentration

  2 hours following work protocol, approximately 6 hours into the trial

• Maximum Core Temperature

  Highest core temperature attained during the work protocol

  End of work protocol, approximately 4 hours into the trial

Study Arms (4)

Standard work pace first

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The order of the interventions is standard work pace first, followed by the other interventions in a permuted block randomization design.

Behavioral: Standard work pace; Behavioral: Reduced-pace work; Behavioral: Increased-pace work; Behavioral: Additional rest breaks

Reduced-pace work first

EXPERIMENTAL

The order of the interventions is reduced-pace work first, followed by the other interventions in a permuted block randomization design.

Behavioral: Standard work pace; Behavioral: Reduced-pace work; Behavioral: Increased-pace work; Behavioral: Additional rest breaks

Increase-paced work first

EXPERIMENTAL

The order of the interventions is increased-pace work first, followed by the other interventions in a permuted block randomization design.

Behavioral: Standard work pace; Behavioral: Reduced-pace work; Behavioral: Increased-pace work; Behavioral: Additional rest breaks

Additional rest breaks first

EXPERIMENTAL

The order of the interventions is additional rest breaks first, followed by the other interventions in a permuted block randomization design.

Behavioral: Standard work pace; Behavioral: Reduced-pace work; Behavioral: Increased-pace work; Behavioral: Additional rest breaks

Interventions

Standard work pace BEHAVIORAL

Participants will work at a standard pace of one box per minute during the box carrying protocol

Additional rest breaks first; Increase-paced work first; Reduced-pace work first; Standard work pace first

Reduced-pace work BEHAVIORAL

Participants will work at a slower pace than the standard work pace of the box carrying protocol

Additional rest breaks first; Increase-paced work first; Reduced-pace work first; Standard work pace first

Increased-pace work BEHAVIORAL

Participants will work at a faster pace than the standard work pace of the box carrying protocol

Additional rest breaks first; Increase-paced work first; Reduced-pace work first; Standard work pace first

Additional rest breaks BEHAVIORAL

Participants will work at the standard work pace during the box carrying protocol and have superimposed 5 minutes of rest every 30 minutes.

Additional rest breaks first; Increase-paced work first; Reduced-pace work first; Standard work pace first

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Healthy individuals
• years old and 40-65 years old
• Completes at least 120 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week for at least the past 4 weeks
• Resistance trained or have recently held a job involving box carrying or a similar task

You may not qualify if:

• History of cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, neural, or renal disease
• Hypertensive (systolic blood pressure \> 139 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure \> 89 mmHg) or tachycardic (resting heart rate \> 100 bpm) during the screening visit
• Current nicotine use or previous use within the past 6 months
• Current of previous musculoskeletal injury limiting physical activity
• A positive pregnancy test at any point during the study
• Currently breastfeeding
• Study physician discretion based on any other medical condition or medication

Sponsors & Collaborators

• State University of New York at Buffalo: lead

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Hyperthermia; Heat Stress Disorders; Fatigue

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Body Temperature Changes; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Wounds and Injuries

Central Study Contacts

Riana Pryor

CONTACT

716-829-5456; rpryor@buffalo.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 11, 2024
• First Posted: September 19, 2024
• Study Start (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2028
• Last Updated: June 26, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: Data from this project will be made available as soon as able and no later than the time of the final publication. Original data will be preserved indefinitely after the end of the funding period.
• Access Criteria: Pooled and de-identified data will be made available to interested researchers upon email request.