Abstract
<p>Little is known about the health effects of heat in outdoor work and appropriate work and rest schedules for farmers working in developing countries. As temperatures continue to increase in tropical regions, such as Northern Ghana, it is necessary to evaluate how farmers experience and respond to high heat exposures. In this study, WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature) estimates and the ISO work / rest standards were applied to a cohort of farmers in the rural areas of Bawku East, Northern Ghana, to assess how farmers respond to high heat and how much they rest to protect their health, as well as the level of heat on their productivity. WBGT data was recorded over a period of 6 months among vegetable, cereals, and legume farmers. The ISO proposed and actual rest regimes observed by farmers in the same time period were evaluated. In the dry season the dry bulb temperature rose as high as 45 ºC, while during the humid months of March and April WBGT rose to levels as high as 34 ºC. Farmers worked for nine hours a day during these hot periods with insufficient rest, which has adverse consequences on their health and productivity.</p>
Highlights
Working during periods of high temperatures, in full sunshine, can have serious health consequences on farmers and can reduce their productivity by decreasing work comfort and performance (Kjellstrom, 2009; Parsons, 2003)
WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature) estimates and the ISO work / rest standards were applied to a cohort of farmers in the rural areas of Bawku East, Northern Ghana, to assess how farmers respond to high heat and how much they rest to protect their health, as well as the level of heat on their productivity
Computer software developed by Lemke (Lemke & Kjellstrom, 2012) which is predominantly used in the ‘High Occupational Temperature Health and Productivity Suppression’ (HOTHAPS is a global program of assessing heat stress) program was used to calculate WBGT from the recordings of the EL lascar USB instrument
Summary
Working during periods of high temperatures, in full sunshine, can have serious health consequences on farmers and can reduce their productivity by decreasing work comfort and performance (Kjellstrom, 2009; Parsons, 2003). Studies on heat stress and its physiological impact are scanty in the developing world. In the developed world, copious research on heat and its physiological threat on human health are prominent in both indoor and outdoor occupational health research (Ebi, Smith, & Burton, 2006; Parsons, 2003). In developing countries there is much concern over the increased risk of heat stress on farmers as a result of rising outdoor temperatures, as many farmers spend not less than eight hours every day in the full sunshine to cultivate or harvest (Kjellstrom, Gabrysch, Lemke, & Dear, 2009; Kjellstrom, Kovats, Lloyd, Holt, & Tol, 2009). The emergence of warming predominantly in the African region (IPCC, 2007b) requires improved adaptation that can maintain the wellbeing and work performance of workers ( Kjellstrom, 2000)
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