ArticleAnnals of work exposures and health2019
Assessment of Heat Stress Exposure among Construction Workers in the Hot Desert Climate of Saudi Arabia.
Article in Annals of work exposures and health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 134 citations in OpenAlex.
- Heat Stress Prevention in Construction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Risk Factors and Control Strategies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Pooled it
- Occupational health in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): A systematic review and call for comprehensive policy development.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Cooling intervention studies among outdoor occupational groups: A review of the literature.American journal of industrial medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Review
- Spatiotemporal trends in WBGT and affected population in the MENA region (1951-2021).Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Occupational heat stress among female agricultural workers in the Jordan Valley, Palestine.Annals of work exposures and health · 2026Article
- Occupational heat risk perceptions and behavioral adaptation strategies among construction and welding workers in Bangladesh.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The Climate-Migration-Health Nexus: A Multisectoral Framework for Action, with Case Insights from MENA.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2026Article
- Policies and Interventions in Middle Eastern and North African Countries to Mitigate Heat Stress Experienced by Outdoor Workers: A Scoping Literature Review.Current environmental health reports · 2026Article
- Heat-related symptom profiles among construction workers: a latent class analysis of behavioral and workplace factors.Journal of occupational health · 2026Article
- Heat Exposure and Health Outcomes in Construction Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Environmental health insights · 2026Article
- The impacts of climate change on occupational health and work among outdoor workers: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Heat Stress and Heat-Related Illnesses among Male and Female Refugee Agricultural Workers in Lebanon.International journal of industrial ergonomics · 2025Article
- Extreme Heat Exposure in the Construction Industry: A Scoping Review on Risk Factors and Heat-Related Health Consequences.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Climate change and its environmental and health effects from 2015 to 2022: A scoping review.Heliyon · 2025Review
- A Content Analysis of Web-Based Heat Stress Materials Published by Occupational Health and Safety Ministries, Associations, and Agencies in Canada.New solutions : a journal of environmental and occupational health policy : NS · 2025Article
- Representations of changing weather conditions and outdoor work in the Swedish media: Legitimization of a risk discourse.PloS one · 2025Article
- Heat health assessment and risk simulation prediction in eastern China: a geospatial analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Augmented human thermal discomfort in urban centers of the Arabian Peninsula.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- A Relative Importance Index Approach to On-Site Building Construction Workers' Perception of Occupational Hazards Assessment.La Medicina del lavoro · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesExcessive heat exposure poses significant risks to workers in hot climates. This study assessed the intensity and duration of heat stress exposure among workers performing residential construction in southeastern Saudi Arabia (SA) during the summer, June-September 2016. Objectives were to: identify work factors related to heat stress exposure; measure environmental heat exposure at the construction sites; assess the heat stress risk among workers using the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index; and determine if temperature-humidity indices can be appropriate alternatives to WBGT for managing heat stress risk at the construction sites.
methodsWorksite walkthrough surveys and environmental monitoring were performed, indoors and outdoors, at 10 construction sites in Al-Ahsa Province. A heat stress exposure assessment was conducted according to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) guidelines, which uses the WBGT index. WBGT measurements from two instruments were compared. Alternative heat stress indices were compared to the WBGT: the heat index (HI) and humidex (HD) index.
resultsConstruction workers were exposed to excessive heat stress, indoors and outdoors over a large part of the work day. Complying with a midday outdoor work ban (12-3 p.m.) was not effective in reducing heat stress risk. The highest intensity of exposure was outdoors from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; a period identified with the highest hourly mean WBGT values (31-33°C) and the least allowable working time according to ACGIH® guidelines. Comparison of the alternative indices showed that the HI is more reliable than the HD as a surrogate for the WBGT index in the climate studied.
conclusionThe extreme heat exposure represents a serious risk. The severity of heat stress and its impact are projected to increase due to climate change, emphasizing the need for immediate improvement of the current required protective measures and the development of occupational heat stress exposure guidelines in SA.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.