REHEAT

REHEAT – The App for Supporting the Wellbeing of Home Care Professionals During Heatwaves

In recent decades, climate change has reached increasingly alarming levels. Human activity has progressively disrupted the balance of terrestrial ecosystems, contributing to the worsening of an unprecedented global climate crisis. Today, global warming is recognized as one of the main threats to public health, as it exposes people to increasingly frequent, intense, and prolonged episodes of extreme heat. This situation makes it urgent to adopt effective and large-scale adaptation measures.

However, some individuals are more exposed than others to the potential negative effects of heat. Work itself can be a risk factor, as it may amplify the impact of heat stress even at temperatures below official alert thresholds. The risk is even greater for those performing physically demanding tasks or working under pressure, such as home care and assistance professionals. This type of work involves strenuous activities like lifting patients and making frequent trips between patients' homes, often under the scorching sun and in urgent conditions. Additionally, during heatwaves, the workload increases further, as many patients are particularly vulnerable to the effects of heat.

What is REHEAT? REHEAT is an app developed by a team of experts as part of a research project of the same name, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Its goal is to evaluate the impact of simple, practical recommendations for better managing work during heatwaves on the wellbeing of home care professionals operating in the cantons of Ticino, Zurich, and St. Gallen/Thurgau.

An Innovative Data Collection System to Monitor Workplace Wellbeing The REHEAT app is based on advanced technology and an integrated data collection approach that combines:

Smartwatches for continuous monitoring of physiological and environmental parameters in real time;

Online questionnaires and tests, accessible directly through the app, which allow users to provide subjective assessments of their health status, heat perception, and level of wellbeing during the workday.

The combination of objective and perceived data collected in real time provides an in-depth and dynamic understanding of the effects of high temperatures on personnel in the field, even on the most demanding workdays.