The Effectiveness of Cooling Vests in Reducing Physiological Strains of Occupational Heat Stress Among Construction Workers

OBJECTIVE: To determine if construction workers have a lower BR and a higher HRV while wearing cooling vests. METHODS: A prospective, pragmatic cross-over design took place in June 2023 across a two-day period. Twelve participants were assigned into two equal-sized groups in a counterbalanced design. Each participant served as their own control at baseline. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to test the cooling vest's effect on workers' HRV and BR, and separate Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used to evaluate the cooling vests' effectiveness over time. RESULTS: Across the whole data collection period, workers wearing cooling vests showed significantly lowered BR, but it did not significantly increase HRV. During the initial period (10-20 minutes), wearing a cooling vest resulted in a significantly lower BR. CONCLUSIONS: Cooling vests may constitute one solution to occupational heat-related illnesses.