Table 2 Components and description of HEAT educational intervention
S# | Components | Description |
|---|---|---|
1 | HEAT Workshops | A 5–6-h training and refresher workshops were conducted in all study sites for the emergency department healthcare providers (physicians, nurses, technicians, etc.) with the following objectives: • Appreciate the magnitude of the problem in terms of climate change and health • Understand heat effects on the body and its response • Discuss vulnerable population and risk factors • Identify and treat heat emergencies- heat bundle The lectures focused on climate change, its impact on human health, and the diagnosis and management of heat emergencies (heat stroke and heat exhaustion) |
2 | Heat-emergencies simulated scenarios | Expert emergency medicine faculty members developed 13 heat emergency case scenarios The main aim of this simulation exercise was to integrate knowledge (theory) with clinical practice The scenarios included the demographic profile of vulnerable populations such as the elderly, labor (people having outdoor jobs, heat-producing machines), youth playing outdoor sports, mentally challenged individuals, etc. Furthermore, the scenarios described common clinical presentations and overlapping manifestations with other diseases and a brief history of heat exposure in the community, workplace, and recent activities. Then the scenarios ended with five possible clinical decision options The simulated scenarios were explained to the participants, and in an interactive discussion, the clinical decision options were analyzed, and one correct action was chosen |
3 | Heat emergency healthcare provider manual | A provider manual for clinical practice and treatment algorithm was developed for heat emergencies based on literature review and formal consultation with experts from USA, India, and Pakistan [30]. The manual covers the impact of climate change and heatwaves on population health, pathophysiology of heat-emergencies, the disease spectrum and management, and hospital emergency response plan to heatwaves The manual of distributed to all emergency healthcare providers and hospital management |
4 | Pocket-sized manual | A smaller, pocket-sized heat emergency treatment manual was printed and distributed to all emergency healthcare providers |
5 | Treatment algorithm poster | A 36’’ × 48’’ poster of heat emergency awareness and treatment (HEAT) algorithm was mounted on the notice boards of all study sites in the emergency department See S1 Fig for details |