Abstract:

To reduce the health risks of wearing medical protective clothing for a long time in summer, the standard Chinese human body model was selected, three classical heat strain models (PHS model, HSDA model and Fiala body temperature regulation model) were used, and the core temperatures and sweat rates of the medical staff wearing medical protective clothing in various environments in summer were simulated. The recommended water intake rate and safe time for the medical staff in various environments in summer were determined. The results indicate that the physiological responses of human body are significantly affected by environmental parameters. In different environments, the maximum difference of core temperature and sweat rate is 11.17 ℃ and 6 592 g/h, respectively. When the ambient temperature increases by 1 ℃ or the ambient relative humidity increases by 1%, the average safety time decreases by 5.9 and 0.89 min, respectively. When the ambient temperatures is 36 and 40 ℃, the safety time is only 88-124 and 75-100 min, respectively. In the low temperature and low humidity conditions, the prediction results of the three models are relatively close. However, in the high temperature and high humidity conditions, the prediction results of the three models are significant different, and the maximum difference of the core temperature and sweat rate is 7.55 ℃ and 5 654.35 g/h, respectively.

Key words: summer, medical protective clothing, heat stress, medical staff, core temperature, sweat rate, predicted heat strain (PHS), heat strain decision aid (HSDA)