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

Lemke, Michael Kenneth; Tian, Chi; Gonzales Melinger, Andrea Ixchel; Nally, John F; Yang, James J; Sirikul, Bovorn; Zavala, Susana; Yalavarthy, Geethika et al. · J Occup Environ Med · 2026

prospective_cohort · Level II

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Abstract

To determine if construction workers have a lower BR and a higher HRV while wearing cooling vests. 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. 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. Cooling vests may constitute one solution to occupational heat-related illnesses.