Mrs Massomeh Karami, Mr Gholamhossein Halvani, Mr Sajad Zare, Mr Ah Mehrparvar, Mrs Arefeh Dehghani Tafati, Mr Abbas Mozaffari, Mr Yaser Sahranavard,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (11-2018)
Abstract
Introduction: Thermal stress and high physical activity reduce blood flow to the brain and decrease the mental performance of individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of Heat stress on vital factors and cognitive function of Workers of Sarcheshmeh copper in Kerman.
Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on fifty-six Workers of Sarcheshmeh Copper smelter in 2018. First, the environmental parameters and WBGT index were measured in the work environment of the staff in accordance with ISO7243. Then, in three stages (initial shift, mid shift and end of shift), vital factors (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) and cognitive function (CPT and N-back tests) were measured. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20 software.
Results: In this industry, the average vital factors of Workers at work stations were significantly different at different stages of activity (p <0.05). There was no significant correlation between WBGT index with heart rate and body temperature (p >0.05), and this relationship was significant for systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p <0.05). There was a significant difference between the mean cognitive functions of staff in CPT and N-Back tests in different stages of activity (p <0.05).
Conclusion: Heat Stress Affect physiological responses and decrease mental function of individuals. Physiological parameters during activity are increased at the beginning and the end of activity, and the cognitive functions of the Workers at the end of activity are less than their cognitive performance during and after the work activity.
Karen Fatahi, Maryam Beigi,
Volume 16, Issue 3 (10-2024)
Abstract
Introduction: Thermal comfort is essential for a productive work environment and affects the well-being and performance of employees, so maintaining optimal levels of satisfaction, productivity, and efficiency, especially in indoor spaces, is essential. Therefore, the present study's aim is to evaluate the state of cognitive performance. Employees and determination of the thermal comfort range of different genders of employees in the hospitals of Ilam city were done.
Methods and Materials: This research was conducted by survey and field method to identify the state of thermal comfort and cognitive performance of people in the real conditions of therapeutic spaces. For this purpose, the responses of 400 employees of five hospitals in Ilam City were recorded by simple sampling from the beginning of August to November 1402. The reliability status of the questionnaires was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha, and the thermal comfort status of the people was determined through the regression model. Linearity and correlation analysis between measured variables were analyzed through SPSS27 software.
Results: The analysis of the linear regression model showed that the range of thermal comfort between men and women differs by 1.79 degrees Celsius, and this difference is a tendency for warmer temperatures in men and a tendency for colder temperatures in women, the average scores obtained at Zagros Hospital In the visual-spatial/executive component (7.00), attention (4.34), memory (3.08) has the best performance, Imam Khomeini Hospital (RA) has the best performance in the verbal component (2.95), Hazrat Qaim Hospital (A) In the abstraction component (2.02), it has the best performance and awareness of time and place in all hospitals equal to 6.00.
Conclusion: The level of coverage and activity rate among women significantly affects the feeling of thermal comfort, cognitive performance, and productivity of employees at work. The results of this research show the need to revise the current standards of workplace clothing, attendance time, and employee activity rate. Moreover, changes in cognitive performance among hospital staff highlight the need to consider targeted cognitive enhancement strategies to increase staff efficiency.
