Hot days and Covid-19 – unusual heat stress for nursing professions in Germany

Objectives

Our aim was to identify whether working during hot days alongside with Covid-19 related personal protective equipment causes heat stress for nursing professionals in Germany.

Methods

Using an online survey, we assessed the impact of hot weather on nursing staff performing in personal protective equipment. A random selection of nursing staff from hospitals, nursing homes and outpatient care participated in the survey.

Results

Out of 428 participants, 6.3% were between 16 and 25 years old, 22.8% between 26 and 35 years, 21.9% between 36 and 45 years, 30.5% between 45 and 55 years, 18.2% between 56 and 65 years, and 0.3% were older than 65 years. Out of all participants, 18.2% were male and 82.5% female. The results of the survey showed that 48.3% had more than 20 years of experience in nursing and 46.2% cardiac, pulmonary, or other pre-existing conditions. Work was found exhaustive while working in PPE by 96.5% of the participants, and 93% complained of worse breathing. We found out that 85.8% reported difficulties to focus. Many workplaces turned out to lack adequate heat protection, with distinct differences concerning the amount of prophylactic and heat mitigating measures across institutions.

Conclusions

Our results clearly show that employers must make more of an effort to provide adequate heat protection for their nursing staff. In order to secure the public health care, there is a need for action, especially in the case of previous conditions of caregivers.

What is already known about this subject?

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  Working in personal protective equipment is often needed during pandemics, to protect nurses, doctors and staff from an infection.

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  However, the equipment can also hamper efficiency and productivity of healthcare workers and lead to personal discomfort, for example, during heat waves.

What are the new findings?

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  According to our study, nurses and nursing assistants in Germany are often older than 45 years and, in many cases, suffer from pre-existing conditions, which exacerbate the problems with personal protective equipment during periods of hot temperatures.

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  Many healthcare institutions do not offer adequate ways to mitigate heat stress for their staff.

How might this impact on policy or clinical practice in the foreseeable future?

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  The results from this study can inform policy makers and clinical practitioners to modify their protocols to include better protective measures during extreme heat or other adverse environmental conditions.