Indoor temperatures in patient waiting rooms in eight rural primary health care centers in Northern South Africa and the related potential risks to human health and wellbeing

Caradee Y. Wright*, Renée A. Street, Nokulunga Cele, Zamantimande Kunene, Yusentha Balakrishna, Patricia N. Albers, Angela Mathee

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Increased temperatures affect human health and vulnerable groups including infants, children, the elderly and people with pre-existing diseases. In the southern African region climate models predict increases in ambient temperature twice that of the global average temperature increase. Poor ventilation and lack of air conditioning in primary health care clinics, where duration of waiting time may be as long as several hours, pose a possible threat to patients seeking primary health care. Drawing on information measured by temperature loggers installed in eight clinics in Giyani, Limpopo Province of South Africa, we were able to determine indoor temperatures of waiting rooms in eight rural primary health care facilities. Mean monthly temperature measurements inside the clinics were warmer during the summer months of December, January and February, and cooler during the autumn months of March, April and May. The highest mean monthly temperature of 31.4 ± 2.7 °C was recorded in one clinic during February 2016. Maximum daily indoor clinic temperatures exceeded 38 °C in some clinics. Indoor temperatures were compared to ambient (outdoor) temperatures and the mean difference between the two showed clinic waiting room temperatures were higher by 2–4 °C on average. Apparent temperature (AT) incorporating relative humidity readings made in the clinics showed ‘realfeel’ temperatures were >4 °C higher than measured indoor temperature, suggesting a feeling of ‘stuffiness’ and discomfort may have been experienced in the waiting room areas. During typical clinic operational hours of 8h00 to 16h00, mean ATs fell into temperature ranges associated with heat–health impact warning categories of ‘caution’ and ‘extreme caution’.

Original languageEnglish
Article number43
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Jan 2017

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank the Head Clinic Health Care Professionals for allowing us to work in the clinics. We also acknowledge the fieldworkers and Medical Research Council staff who installed and collected the loggers. Funding for this project was made possible through a South African Medical Research Council Flagship Grant, as well as funds from National Treasury under its Economic Competitiveness and Support Package, and a National Research Foundation Y-Rated Researchers grant. This research was also carried out for the iDEWS (infectious Diseases Early-Warning System) project supported by SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development) Programme of JICA (JAPAN International Cooperation Agency)/AMED (Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development) in Japan and the ACCESS (Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science) program of NRF (National Research Foundation) and DST (Department of Science and Technology in South Africa).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • Climate change
  • Clinics
  • Indoor temperature
  • Rural
  • South Africa
  • Waiting rooms

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