ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Recruitment, Methods, and Descriptive Results of a Physiologic Assessment of Latino Farmworkers

The California Heat Illness Prevention Study

Mitchell, Diane C. PhD; Castro, Javier BS; Armitage, Tracey L. MS; Vega-Arroyo, Alondra J. BS; Moyce, Sally C. PhDc; Tancredi, Daniel J. PhD; Bennett, Deborah H. PhD; Jones, James H. PhD, DVM; Kjellstrom, Tord PhD; Schenker, Marc B. MD, MPH

Author Information

Department of Public Health Sciences (Dr Mitchell, Ms Armitage, Ms Vega-Arroyo, Dr Bennett, Dr Schenker); Center for Health and the Environment (Mr Castro); Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, and Samuel Merritt School of Nursing (Dr Moyce); Department of Pediatrics and Center for Healthcare Policy and Research (Dr Tancredi), School of Medicine, Sacramento; Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine (Dr Jones), University of California, Davis, California; Health and Environmental International Trust, Mapua, Nelson, New Zealand, and University College London, London, United Kingdom (Dr Kjellstrom).

Address correspondence to: Diane C. Mitchell, PhD, Center for Health and the Environment, University of California Davis, 1250 Old Davis Road, Davis, CA 95616 ([email protected])

Funding: National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health grants OH007550 and OH010243.

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's Website (www.joem.org).

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 59(7):p 649-658, July 2017. | DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000988

Abstract

Objective:

The California heat illness prevention study (CHIPS) devised methodology and collected physiological data to assess heat related illness (HRI) risk in Latino farmworkers.

Methods:

Bilingual researchers monitored HRI across a workshift, recording core temperature, work rate (metabolic equivalents [METs]), and heart rate at minute intervals. Hydration status was assessed by changes in weight and blood osmolality. Personal data loggers and a weather station measured exposure to heat. Interviewer administered questionnaires were used to collect demographic and occupational information.

Results:

California farmworkers (n = 588) were assessed. Acceptable quality data was obtained from 80% of participants (core temperature) to 100% of participants (weight change). Workers (8.3%) experienced a core body temperature more than or equal to 38.5 °C and 11.8% experienced dehydration (lost more than 1.5% of body weight).