Climate Change and Its Implications for Occupational Health and Safety: A Comprehensive Systematic Review

Background: Physical and mental health promotion as well as social well-being of all employees is a central element of occupational health practice. It is becoming more evident that climate change is a core challenge confronting various global sectors, with substantial effects not only on environmental, social, and economic systems, but also on occupational health and safety in numerous industries. Due to the growing significance of climate change, the ۲۰۲۴ world day for safety and health at work has focused on its impact on occupational health and safety. Consequently, this study aimed to investigate how climate change influences workplace health and safety conditions. Materials and Methods: Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) protocol, this research was designed as a systematic review. To identify studies, relevant keywords were searched in reputable databases (Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, Embase, and Google Scholar) between ۲۰۰۰ and ۲۰۲۴. The retrieved scientific studies were reviewed by two researchers based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Duplicate and irrelevant articles were removed from the study. Key information, including the implications of climate change on health and occupational safety, the study location, a summary of the findings, the study design, sample size or study period, and the tools used for data collection, was extracted from the selected studies and analyzed using a descriptive approach.         Results: In this systematic review, ۲۸ eligible studies were reviewed. The identified effects were divided into ۹ different groups: ۱) increase in heat stress; ۲) consequences, symptoms and diseases related to heat; ۳) decrease in work capacity and productivity; ۴) increase in exposure to ultraviolet rays; ۵) increase in air pollution in the workplace; ۶) increase in infectious diseases and contagious; ۷) increase in occupational accidents; ۸) increase in cognitive impairment, psychological and behavioral effects; and ۹) increase in severe weather events. Conclusion: Adopting effective adaptation strategies to climate change to prevent the hazards associated with climate change and improve workplace conditions necessitates cooperation between different government sectors, academic institutions, fields of study, and local communities.

کلیدواژه ها:

Climate change ، Climate variability ، Occupational health and safety