Cold exposure among outdoor workers in the Arctic settingShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: International Journal of Circumpolar Health, ISSN 1239-9736, E-ISSN 2242-3982, Vol. 84, no 1, article id 2561278
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The main aim of this study was to describe the degree of cold exposure and occupational physical activity within three different outdoor occupational groups in northern Sweden using both technical measurements and self-reported survey items. The cold exposure and physical activity of workers in preschool, park and maintenance and power grid sectors (N = 133) were examined using a digital survey, temperature loggers and thigh-worn accelerometers. In the survey, 33% of workers indicated that they often or always felt cold at work, and 39% reported that they had inadequate knowledge about cold weather protection. The median (interquartile range, IQR) duration of working at ambient temperatures below 10°C was 131 (157) minutes. The physical activity while working outdoors was composed of sitting (20%), standing (54%) and walking (26%). About one-third of the participants reported that they often or always felt cold at their workplace, with an average of more than two hours spent outside at temperatures below 10°C. Possible remedies include increasing physical activity and improving thermal insulation of the clothing.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis, 2025. Vol. 84, no 1, article id 2561278
Keywords [en]
child day care centers, cold climate, electric wiring, Occupational, parks, recreational, temperature, wearable electronic devices
National Category
Epidemiology Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine Occupational Health and Environmental Health
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-244760DOI: 10.1080/22423982.2025.2561278PubMedID: 40985813Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105016770886OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-244760DiVA, id: diva2:2001869
Funder
Region Västerbotten, RV-980109Region Västerbotten, RV-9936952025-09-292025-09-292025-09-29Bibliographically approved