Affiliations: [a]
Center of Excellence for Occupational Health, Occupational Health and Safety Research Center, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
| [b]
Center of Excellence for Occupational Health, School of Public Health and Research Center for Health Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
| [c]
Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Modeling of Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
| [d]
Department of Ergonomics, School of Public Health and Research Center for Health Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Masoud Shafiee Motlagh, Center of Excellence for Occupational Health, Occupational Health and Safety Research Center, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 65175-4171, Hamadan, Iran. Emails: [email protected], [email protected].
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Using medical gowns with high protection against COVID-19 among healthcare workers (HCWs) may limit heat exchange, resulting in physiological challenges. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to compare the physiological and neurophysiological responses of female HCWs when using two typical medical gowns at different temperatures during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS:Twenty healthy female HCWs participated in this study. Participants wore two types of medical gowns: Spunbond gown (SG) and laminate gown (LG). They walked on a treadmill in a controlled climate chamber for 30 minutes at three different temperatures (24, 28, and 32°C). Heart rate (HR), skin surface temperature (ST), clothing surface temperature (CT), ear temperature (ET), blood oxygen percentage (SaO2), galvanic skin response (GSR), and blood pressure were measured before and after walking on a treadmill. The study’s results were analyzed using SPSS26. RESULTS:The study found that LG led to an average increase of 0.575°C in CT compared to SG at the same temperatures (P < 0.03). The average HR increased by 6.5 bpm in LG at 28°C compared to SG at a comfortable temperature (P = 0.01). The average ET in SG and GSR in LG at 32°C increased by 0.39°C and 0.25μS, respectively, compared to the comfortable temperature (P < 0.02). CONCLUSIONThe study recommends maintaining a comfortable temperature range in hospitals to prevent physiological challenges among HCWs wearing medical gowns with high protection against COVID-19. This is important because using LG, compared to SG, at high temperatures can increase HR, ET, CT, and GSR.
Keywords: Heat stress, strain, comfort, health personnel, personal protective equipment, hospitals
