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Effect of Climate Change Awareness on Heat-Related Illness Prevention Practices among Outdoor Workers in Nigeria

Abstract

Climate change is an emerging public health concern in Nigeria, with increasing temperatures and changing weather patterns creating potential risks for populations exposed to outdoor heat. Outdoor workers, including construction workers, agricultural workers, road workers, waste handlers, security personnel, and other workers whose occupations require prolonged exposure to high temperatures, may be particularly vulnerable to heat-related illnesses. Prolonged exposure to excessive heat may result in dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, heat syncope, and potentially life-threatening heat stroke. Climate change awareness provides workers with information about changing temperature patterns, heat-related health risks, vulnerable periods, signs and symptoms of heat-related illness, risk factors, and appropriate protective measures. Heat-related illness prevention practices refer to behaviours adopted by workers to reduce heat exposure and prevent heat-related health problems, including adequate fluid intake, taking appropriate rest breaks, seeking shade or cooler environments, wearing suitable clothing and protective equipment, adjusting work schedules where feasible, monitoring for heat-related symptoms, and seeking timely medical attention when necessary. In Nigeria, limited awareness, high occupational heat exposure, demanding work schedules, inadequate access to drinking water and shaded rest areas, and limited workplace heat-health policies may affect the adoption of appropriate preventive practices among outdoor workers. Effective climate change awareness may improve workers' understanding of heat-related risks and encourage appropriate preventive behaviours. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of climate change awareness on heat-related illness prevention practices among outdoor workers in Nigeria. The study is anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework. The Health Belief Model explains preventive health behaviour through perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action, providing a basis for understanding workers' decisions to adopt heat-related illness prevention practices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, self-efficacy, social influences, behavioural capabilities, and environmental conditions in shaping occupational health behaviour. The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework provides a basis for examining how improved knowledge and attitudes resulting from climate change awareness may influence heat-health prevention practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how climate change awareness may influence heat-related illness prevention practices among outdoor workers in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. Primary data will be collected from outdoor workers in selected urban, peri-urban, and rural areas of Nigeria using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and an observational workplace checklist. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, local government areas, occupational settings, worksites, and eligible outdoor workers. Where feasible, selected worksites or participant groups will be assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Workers in the intervention group will receive structured climate change and heat-health education covering climate change and rising temperatures, occupational heat exposure, risk factors for heat-related illness, early warning signs and symptoms, hydration, rest breaks, shade and cooling, appropriate clothing, work scheduling, buddy systems, emergency response, and timely healthcare seeking. Heat-related illness prevention practices will be assessed using indicators such as adequate fluid intake, regular rest breaks, access to shade or cooling areas, appropriate work scheduling, use of suitable protective clothing, recognition of heat-related symptoms, reporting of symptoms, and timely healthcare seeking. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize workers' sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, climate change awareness, exposure to education, and heat-related illness prevention practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired-sample tests, independent-sample tests, and multiple regression analysis, will be used to determine the effect of climate change awareness on heat-related illness prevention practices. Appropriate diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability of the research instrument, model assumptions, goodness of fit, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that climate change awareness has a significant positive effect on heat-related illness prevention practices among outdoor workers in Nigeria. Workers exposed to structured climate change and heat-health education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of heat-related risks, early symptoms, and appropriate preventive measures. Education may encourage workers to increase fluid intake, take regular rest breaks, utilize shaded or cooler areas, adjust work activities during periods of extreme heat where feasible, recognize early symptoms, report heat-related problems, and seek timely healthcare when necessary. However, awareness alone may not guarantee sustained preventive practices because workers may continue to face occupational and structural barriers such as demanding workloads, financial pressure, inadequate drinking-water supplies, limited shaded rest areas, lack of workplace heat policies, and pressure to maintain productivity during periods of high temperatures. Consequently, climate change awareness is expected to be most effective when supported by workplace heat-health policies, access to drinking water and shaded rest areas, appropriate work-rest schedules, occupational health supervision, and employer commitment to worker safety. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on climate change and health, occupational health, heat-related illness, environmental health, health education, and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the effect of climate change awareness on heat-related illness prevention practices among outdoor workers. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, state ministries and occupational health authorities, employers, trade and occupational organizations, healthcare providers, environmental health professionals, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for reducing occupational heat-health risks. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening climate change and heat-health education, developing workplace heat-health policies, improving access to drinking water and shaded rest areas, promoting appropriate work-rest schedules, strengthening occupational health surveillance, and protecting outdoor workers from increasing heat-related health risks across Nigeria.

Keywords: Climate change awareness, heat-related illness prevention practices, outdoor workers, heat exposure, occupational health, climate change and health, heat stress, health education, workplace health, environmental health, public health, Nigeria.