Farmers’s Heat Related Illness in Takhop Sub-District, Pakthongchai District, Nakhonratchasima Province

Abstract

This cross-sectional analytical study aimed to study illness of farmers in relation to
heat in Takhop Sub-District, Pakthongchai District, Nakhonratchasima Province. The study
activities included 1) investigation of heat index from temperature and relative humidity data
between March-April 2016 while dividing the heat index into four scales caution level (below
32oC), extreme caution level (33-39oC), danger level (40-51oC), and extreme danger level
(over 52oC), 2) collection of patients data who received services on heat related illness at
Takob Health Promoting Hospital, Pakthongchai District, Nakhonratchasima Province, and
3) collection of patients’ data by using questionnaire which consisted of their risk perception
related to heat, behavior in self-protection, and illness associated with heat with a total of
275 households. The data was collected from patients in May 2016 by retrospectively asked
the samples with their data from March to April 2016.
The study results revealed that the average heat index during March to April was
at 35.48±4.52 and 40.23±2.46 respectively while 47.54% of the heat index were classified at
danger level followed by the second-classified and the third-classified at extreme caution
level and caution level 37.70% and 14.75% respectively. The study of heat related illness
showed that 56.73% with dizziness and woozy, 23.64% with pale, hypothermia, and heat
syncope. For self-protection practices to heat, the farmers responded from the questionnaire
together with data from the Health Promoting Hospital found most farmers when facing
heat they would stop working and did self-primary medical care by themselves while some
went for services at nearby health center. The statistical analyses revealed that key factors
which related to the incidents of heat symptoms including duration of working hours (p-value=
0.037), numbers of farming days (p-value=0.036), duration of exposure to heat per day (p-value=
0.039) was significantly related at p value<0.05. The study result suggested that the farmers
had risk perception from heat at low level with 67.64% followed by the second-classified at
moderate level with 27.64%, therefore those concerned agencies should develop perception
measures and exploring ways on prevention of farmers’ illness from heat.