Cooling vests during a COVID-19 shift allow nurses to experience less heat during their work and therefore perform their duties more pleasantly and comfortably. During their shift, they wear protective clothing for three consecutive hours, under which temperatures can reach as high as about 36 degrees. The cooling vests provide such cooling that they are now part of the standard workwear of nurses in the COVID wards of the Radboudumc.
Due to the high infectivity of COVID-19, healthcare personnel must work in protective but barely ventilated clothing. Proper protective clothing is essential in their work, but the temperature under these suits can reach 36 degrees, leading to reduced comfort. The cooling vests, actually developed for elite athletes at the Tokyo Olympics, were modified and made ready for use in COVID care.
Cooling vests for elite athletes
Thijs Eijsvogels, exercise physiologist and project leader of the Olympic Games project Thermo Tokyo, explains: "The top sports cooling vests were not immediately suitable for use, as they were developed for rapid cooling before or after a physical effort. In COVID care, it is about long-term use, where the vests are worn tíjj during care activities. The vests stay cool for a longer period of time."
While the cooling vests were already in use, a study of their effects was underway. In this COOLVID study, done by TNO and Radboudumc, seventeen nurses from Radboudumc were followed, working in COVID care. They were followed for two days; one day with and one day without a cooling vest. They wore the vest over their medical clothing and under their protective clothing. This included measuring body temperature and heart rate, as well as subjective measures such as comfort and heat experience.
Less affected by heat during a shift
The results, now published in Temperature, show that the participants' body temperature rose slightly, but not dramatically, despite the fact that the temperature under the protective clothing did. So on body temperature, the cooling vest had little effect. However, the heart rate was a few beats per minute lower on the days the cooling vest was worn. But the biggest difference was in the subjective perception of the caregivers. Yannick de Korte, PhD candidate from the department of physiology and co-investigator of the COOLVID study: "Without a cooling vest, almost 90% of the nurses experienced discomfort and heat. With cooling vest, only 20-30% of participants still experience this. So the conditions under which they have to do their work are perceived as more pleasant and comfortable. Almost everyone says: I can work with cooling vest as I normally work without protective clothing."
Medical Heat Stress
The COOLVID study was conducted within the Medical Heat Stress project, by TNO, as part of its brains4corona program, and the Radboudumc, building on the Thermo Tokyo project. The study was funded by ZonMw. The researchers developed an infographic for using the cooling vests, which is being translated into 9 languages and has been supported by EU Horizon 2020 (HeatShield #668786).
