Thanks to cutting-edge research in combination with on-the-ground work and policy development, workers are being protected, one by one.Roxana Chicas, PhD, RN, assistant professor at the Emory School of Nursing, says, "For far too long, there has been a common notion that heat stress is simply something that comes with these jobs and that nothing much can be done about it - that is a false notion." Workers in agriculture and construction don’t have to succumb to heat stress.We value professional athletes as a society, but why do we not show the same value for the people who put food on our tables each day?” Bethany Boggess Alcauter, director of research and public health programs at the National Center for Farmworker Health, says, “Outdoor workers are athletes working in extreme conditions. The nature of the work, in combination with extreme heat conditions, is excruciating and can be lethal. Workers in agriculture and construction face intense work activity, comparable to an athlete.Heat stress does not have to be a part of the job, and worker protections can provide a return on investment to businesses. Preventing immediate and long-term health effects from dehydration and chronic exposure to heat is simple, effective and inexpensive.The group advises a framework for protecting workers that reinforces their rights, establishes a federal heat standard, creates a public health surveillance system, and implements trainings on spotting heat-related illnesses. To meet the moment, the current framework for protecting workers needs an upgrade. Workers like those in agriculture and construction form the backbone of our society, yet rising heat is making their work riskier.Information from the brief includes the following: In addition to the School of Nursing, the La Isla Network, Migrant Clinicians Network, and the National Center for Farmworker Health call on a multistakeholder coalition - composed of policymakers, researchers, doctors, businesses, workers, and concerned individuals - to address concerns about heat, labor and health. A group of organizations, including the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, has released a joint brief titled, “Heat is Here, Let’s Protect Workers,” on the prevention of heat-related illness, injury and death among workers in the construction and agriculture industries in the United States.
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