Elevated Core Temperature in Florida Fernery Workers: Results of a Pilot Study.

With expected increases in extreme weather, there may be a greater risk of injury from extreme heat in outdoor worker populations. To plan for future adaptation measures, studies are needed that can characterize workers' physiologic responses to heat in outdoor settings such as agriculture. The objective of this study was to characterize occupational heat exposure, key vulnerability factors (e.

Examining Agricultural Workplace Micro and Macroclimate Data Using Decision Tree Analysis to Determine Heat Illness Risk.

Objective: This study was designed to examine the associations between regional weather data and agricultural worksite temperatures in Florida.

Methods: Florida farmworkers (n = 105) were each monitored using iButton technology paired with simultaneous data from regional weather stations. Conditional inference tree models were developed for (1) regional environmental temperatures and iButton (worksite) temperatures, and (2) regional heat index (HI) and iButton HI.

Lessons Learned from Data Collection as Health Screening in Underserved Farmworker Communities.

Background: Girasoles is an academic-community partnership investigating heat-related illness (HRI) among farm-workers. An unexpected outcome is health screening and intervention for participants without access to health care.

Objectives: We present a case of renal failure in a farmworker, detected during data collection, to illustrate how academic-community collaboration can result in clinical benefits for study participants.

Hydration Status, Kidney Function, and Kidney Injury in Florida Agricultural Workers.

Objective: Recent findings suggest that laboring in hot occupational environments is related to kidney damage in agricultural workers. We examined hydration status and kidney function in 192 Florida agricultural workers.

Methods: Blood and urine samples were collected over 555 workdays during the summers of 2015 and 2016.

Farmworker Vulnerability to Heat Hazards: A Conceptual Framework.

Purpose: To review factors that impact the effect of hot environments on the human body in order to develop a conceptual model of human biological response.

Methods: The organizing concept for the model development was the multilevel integration of three major factors, exposure to heat, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, and the heat stress response. Exposure of a vulnerable occupational group was used to illustrate the components of the model.

Heat Exposure in Central Florida Fernery Workers: Results of a Feasibility Study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of field-based biomonitoring of heat-related illness (HRI) phenomena in Florida farmworkers. The authors determined feasibility through participant interviews regarding acceptability, data capture, recruitment and retention, and observed barriers and challenges to implementation.

Methods: Study participants were employed in fernery operations in northeast Central Florida where ornamental ferns are grown and harvested in a seasonally high-heat environment.

Heat Illnesses in the Emergency Department: A Hot Topic.

The RESEARCH TO PRACTICE column is intended to improve the research critique skills of the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) and to assist with the translation of research into practice. For each column, a topic and a particular research study are selected. The stage is set with a case presentation.

Female farmworkers' perceptions of heat-related illness and pregnancy health.

Although agricultural workers have elevated risks of heat-related illnesses (HRI), pregnant farmworkers exposed to extreme heat face additional health risk, including poor pregnancy health and birth outcomes. Qualitative data from five focus groups with 35 female Hispanic and Haitian nursery and fernery workers provide details about the women's perceptions of HRI and pregnancy. Participants believe that heat exposure can adversely affect general, pregnancy, and fetal health, yet feel they lack control over workplace conditions and that they lack training about these specific risks.