Impact of Heat and Mitigation Strategies on Healthcare Professionals: A Scoping Review.

Background: Rising global temperatures and increased use of personal protective equipment has led to increased risk of heat stress amongst healthcare professionals. This review synthesizes recent research on the impact of heat and heat mitigation strategies on healthcare professionals across disciplines and settings.

Method: Databases were systematically searched using keywords and data from included studies were extracted for content analysis.

Results: Among 15 eligible studies, 13 investigated the impact of heat stress on healthcare professionals. Six investigated mitigation strategies. Most studies utilized survey methodology and were related to the use of personal protective equipment during the recent pandemic. Large proportions of healthcare professionals reported high levels of thermal discomfort and preferred a cooler temperature in the workplace. The most commonly reported heat strain symptoms included sweating, fatigue, thirst, and poor or reduced concentration. Investigation of mitigation strategies has thus far focused on individual strategies with little insights gained into organizational support or heat policy.

Conclusions: Supporting healthcare professionals to manage the impact of heat stress has received little attention in the literature. Mitigation strategies have thus far focused predominantly upon individual strategies. Future studies should adopt a more comprehensive approach to investigating healthcare professional's experiences, investigating all levels of controls.