Implementing an Intervention to Reduce Heat Stress and Chemical Exposures

The investigators are studying the dangers that farmworkers face while working in the fields and at home. The investigators goals are:

1. Measure how much heat and chemicals farmworkers in Imperial County are exposed to.

   The investigators will ask the participants to wear a special belt under their clothes during work to measure heat. The investigators will also put two small temperature monitors in the participant's home for a day. The investigators will collect a urine sample to check hydration, and also measure the participants height, weight, blood pressure, and some blood markers for diseases using a simple finger-prick test.

   To measure chemicals, the investigators will give the participants a wristband to wear for a week and hang another in the participants home. The investigators will also collect dust from each participant's home with a vacuum. Then, the investigators will analyze everything at San Diego State University.

   After collecting samples, a trained community health worker will ask the participants a few questions about their work, lifestyle, health symptoms, and any hazards they face. The investigators will meet the participants twice at their homes to distribute the tools which will later be collected. Once the tools are collected, the investigators will have the chance to follow up with the participants if they have any questions.

2. Provide help to lower heat and chemical exposure with the help of community health workers.
3. Measure heat and chemicals again using the same methods to see if the project made a difference.
4. Talk to participants about what they liked and how the investigators can make future projects better.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dehydration; Heat Stress
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Education and resources provided by community health workers

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • El Centro, California, United States, 92243
      • Lideres Campesinas Imperial

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Currently living in Imperial County, California, USA
• Currently work in agriculture
• Plan on living in Imperial Valley for the next 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not currently living in Imperial County, California, USA
• Not currently working in agriculture
• Not planning to live in Imperial Valley for the next 6 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Other: All participants; All participants will receive the intervention

Other: Education and resources provided by community health workers; The intervention will consist of implementing existing tools provided by EPA's Design for the Environment program, CalOSHA and NIOSH sector-specific guidance for agricultural workers, the Imperial County Department of Public Health and materials from California Department of Toxics Substances Control. The investigators will utilize and adjust existing educational tools such as the Heat Illness Prevention plan developed by CalOSHA. In addition to the educational materials, the investigators will give each farmworker cooling working gear to be worn during their work-shift with (specialized clothes that has been used in other occupational settings). The investigators will provide all participants with a low-cost fan filter, known as Corsi-Rosenthal box built jointly by the community health/research team to reduce chemicals at home, and a small A/C unit to reduce heat stress.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Individual heat stress	Skin temperature in degrees Celsius derived from skin temperature monitor worn against the participant's skin.	Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention
Participant household temperature	Household temperature in degrees Celsius, derived from weather monitor placed in the participant's home.	Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention
Participant hydration level	Specific gravity of participant's urine	Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention
Concentration of chemicals measured in silicon wristband worn by study participant	Participants will be asked to wear a silicon wristbands twice; once at baseline and again after the intervention. The research team will collect the wristbands and transport them to San Diego State University for analysis of different classes of chemicals, including pesticides, organophosphates, pyrethroids, and legacy pollutants. The chemicals adhered to the wristbands will be extracted in ethyl acetate and then passed through a solid-phase extraction. Extracts will be analyzed using a two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry at San Diego State University. The final concentration of each chemical will be expressed as nanograms per gram of wristband.	Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention
Concentration of chemicals measured in silicon wristbands hung in the participant's household.	Silicon wristbands will be hung in participants' homes twice; once at baseline and again after the intervention. The research team will collect the wristbands and transport them to San Diego State University for analysis of different classes of chemicals, including pesticides, organophosphates, pyrethroids, and legacy pollutants. The chemicals adhered to the wristbands will be extracted in ethyl acetate and then passed through a solid-phase extraction. Extracts will be analyzed using a two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry at San Diego State University. The final concentration of each chemical will be expressed as nanograms per gram of wristband.	Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention
Concentration of chemicals measured in participant's household dust collected with a vacuum	The research team will visit the participant's home twice to collect the dust samples of the living area using a vacuum; once at baseline and again after the intervention. After collection, the research team will transport the dust samples to San Diego State University to measure the concentrations of different classes of chemicals, including pesticides, organophosphates, pyrethroids, and legacy pollutants. The chemicals in the dust will be extracted in ethyl acetate and then passed through a solid-phase extraction. Extracts will be analyzed using a two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry at San Diego State University. The final concentration of each chemical will be expressed as nanograms per gram of dust.	Assessment at baseline (pre-intervention) and again immediately (week) after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: San Diego State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 7, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 15, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): December 15, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 13, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 3, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): June 5, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 16, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 15, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Heat exposure; Farm worker; Chemical exposure; Agricultural worker; Take-home exposure
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Wounds and Injuries; Pathologic Processes; Metabolic Diseases; Water-Electrolyte Imbalance; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Dehydration; Heat Stress Disorders; Socioeconomic Factors; Population Characteristics; Educational Status
• Other Study ID Numbers: HS-2024-0081

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No