Hamed Jalilian; Ahmad Soltanzadeh; Abdolhalim Rajabi; Hamidreza Heidari
Abstract
Background: This study aims to assess the consistency of the newly developed Outdoor Environmental Heat Index (OEHI) with existing environmental and physiological heat indices in low thermal stressconditions. This comparison is necessary due to potential variations in the performance of a heat stress ...
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Background: This study aims to assess the consistency of the newly developed Outdoor Environmental Heat Index (OEHI) with existing environmental and physiological heat indices in low thermal stressconditions. This comparison is necessary due to potential variations in the performance of a heat stress index when applied in conditions different from those for which it was developed.Methods: Two current and valid outdoor heat indices, including Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) and Humidex (HD), were used in a descriptive-analytical study to compare the results obtained by OEHI and other indices in evaluating the same condition. Furthermore, the authors considered tympanic temperature as a physiological response to heat and assessed the work environment of 63 outdoor workers at three-hour intervals during the workday.Results: The highest coefficient of determination was assigned to OEHI and Humidex index (R2>0.99, P<0.0001). Regarding the correlation between the OEHI and the WBGT index, this correlation with and without considering the time of the measurement was higher than 0.98. Comparisons for the correlations of thermal indices with tympanic temperature showed poor and significant relations between thermal indices and tympanic temperature (R2<0.19, P<0.0001).Conclusion: OEHI can evaluate the thermal condition in low heat stress conditions, similar to other current and valid thermal stress indices, including WBGT and Humidex. The OEHI shows a better correlation with the Humidex than the WBGT index. However, due to the poor correlation observed between OEHI and tympanic temperature in low-stress conditions, it is recommended to use this index just as a screening index to estimate thermal environmental conditions.
Erfan Kharazmi; Mohammad Amin Bahrami; Shima Bordbar; Zahra Shayan; Hanie Gholampoor
Abstract
Background: In recent decades, especially after the publication of the World Health Report in 2000, many efforts have been made to develop assessment tools and improve the performance of health systems at the global and national levels. The purpose of this study was to design a method and assess the ...
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Background: In recent decades, especially after the publication of the World Health Report in 2000, many efforts have been made to develop assessment tools and improve the performance of health systems at the global and national levels. The purpose of this study was to design a method and assess the performance of health systems in various countries in its use.Methods: In this retrospective study, health systems were evaluated using the opinions of experts as well as international data. Health system experts expressed their views on appropriate indicators for evaluation. The performance of the studied health systems was ranked using multi-criteria decision-making techniques (SAW & TOPSIS). Collected data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis.Results: Data related to 38 indexes in eight general areas of macroeconomics, affordability for health costs, disease control, health care financing, health and nutrition, life expectancy, health resources, and mortality rates were collected in 105 countries from 2018 to 2020. According to the findings of country ranking, the health systems of Sweden, Norway, and Japan have the best performance and Afghanistan, Nigeria and Guinea have the weakest performance in the years examined.Conclusion: Health systems face major challenges around the world. Scientific evaluations show that spending more resources and costs does not necessarily enhance the performance of health systems, yet using and distributing these resources and costs in health systems could enhance the hope for better performance.
