Emily Latimer, Aaron Georgas, Andrea McGlynn, Melissa Troncoso
{"title":"A Multi-Pronged Approach to Shipyard Heat Stress Injury Prevention.","authors":"Emily Latimer, Aaron Georgas, Andrea McGlynn, Melissa Troncoso","doi":"10.1177/21650799251345842","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Heat stress injury (HSI) is an occupational hazard for industrial workers. For active-duty Sailors, shipyard conditions of high ambient temperatures, confined spaces, and increased fire-fighting training exacerbate those risks. This evidence-based practice project aimed to decrease Sailor HSI cases on a U.S. Navy ship undergoing multi-year shipyard maintenance after high numbers of HSI events over 5 months.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Three mitigation efforts augmented existing guidelines to decrease HSI rates among Sailors: (1) distribution of oral rehydration solution (ORS) and hydration protocol; (2) scaled personal protective equipment (PPE) wear during firefighting training based on wet-bulb globe temperature; (3) targeted education about HSI risk factors, identification, first aid, and prevention. HSI-related medical response team activations data were collected from ship's logs at baseline and for 2 years following implementation.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>1,700 Sailors received education, 185 drills occurred with scaled PPE, and 35,500 servings of ORS were distributed. Sailor HSI events at baseline were higher (<i>n</i> = 10) than civilians (<i>n</i> = 6; <i>p</i> = .046). After implementation, Sailor HSI events decreased in years 1 (<i>n</i> = 5) and 2 (<i>n</i> = 2) and were not significantly different from civilian HSI rate in years 1 (<i>n</i> = 3, <i>p</i> = .112) and 2 (<i>n</i> = 5, <i>p</i> = .101) who were excluded from interventions. Estimated HSI odds for 2023 Sailors were 70% lower (<i>OR</i> = 0.3, 95% CI [0.02, 4.06]).</p><p><strong>Application to practice: </strong>Shipyard-specific, multi-pronged interventions effectively reduced HSI events over multiple years, which may be adapted to other occupational environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":48968,"journal":{"name":"Workplace Health & Safety","volume":" ","pages":"516-523"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Workplace Health & Safety","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/21650799251345842","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/6/27 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"NURSING","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Heat stress injury (HSI) is an occupational hazard for industrial workers. For active-duty Sailors, shipyard conditions of high ambient temperatures, confined spaces, and increased fire-fighting training exacerbate those risks. This evidence-based practice project aimed to decrease Sailor HSI cases on a U.S. Navy ship undergoing multi-year shipyard maintenance after high numbers of HSI events over 5 months.
Methods: Three mitigation efforts augmented existing guidelines to decrease HSI rates among Sailors: (1) distribution of oral rehydration solution (ORS) and hydration protocol; (2) scaled personal protective equipment (PPE) wear during firefighting training based on wet-bulb globe temperature; (3) targeted education about HSI risk factors, identification, first aid, and prevention. HSI-related medical response team activations data were collected from ship's logs at baseline and for 2 years following implementation.
Findings: 1,700 Sailors received education, 185 drills occurred with scaled PPE, and 35,500 servings of ORS were distributed. Sailor HSI events at baseline were higher (n = 10) than civilians (n = 6; p = .046). After implementation, Sailor HSI events decreased in years 1 (n = 5) and 2 (n = 2) and were not significantly different from civilian HSI rate in years 1 (n = 3, p = .112) and 2 (n = 5, p = .101) who were excluded from interventions. Estimated HSI odds for 2023 Sailors were 70% lower (OR = 0.3, 95% CI [0.02, 4.06]).
Application to practice: Shipyard-specific, multi-pronged interventions effectively reduced HSI events over multiple years, which may be adapted to other occupational environments.
期刊介绍:
Workplace Health & Safety: Promoting Environments Conducive to Well-Being and Productivity is the official publication of the American Association of Occupational Health Nursing, Inc. (AAOHN). It is a scientific peer-reviewed Journal. Its purpose is to support and promote the practice of occupational and environmental health nurses by providing leading edge research findings and evidence-based clinical practices. It publishes articles that span the range of issues facing occupational and environmental health professionals, including emergency and all-hazard preparedness, health promotion, safety, productivity, environmental health, case management, workers'' compensation, business and leadership, compliance and information management.