Beyond Water, Rest, and Shade: Advancing Farmworker Heat Protection Through Partnership

Heat affects farmworker health and productivity. As occupational heat exposure intensifies, cooling devices that extract body heat could protect farmworkers. Companies already market many such technologies to athletes. However, few studies have evaluated their effectiveness, particularly among farmworkers, for whom field-feasibility, workflow integration, and cost-at-scale are critical. In this commentary, we first describe how heat affects farmworker health and review current heat illness prevention standards. We then highlight how cooling devices can augment existing measures and underscore the critical need to test their effectiveness, adaptability, and cost-benefit among farmworkers. Advancing this work requires addressing valid yet surmountable research barriers and building trusted partnerships among researchers, farmworkers, employers, and policymakers. As heat interrupts an increasing number of workdays over time, effective cooling strategies during outdoor work will prove critical to sustaining our nation's food supply.