Dr. Jo Anne Balanay presented her research today at the 6th day of the National Farm Safety and Health Week (NFSHW) 2024. The title of her featured presentation was “Using a Novel App Prototype to Assess Heat Stress Risk among Outdoor Workers”, wherein she discussed about the wet-bulb-globe temperature (WBGT) app prototype that her research team developed at ECU to assess heat stress among outdoor workers. A short description of her presentation is shown below:

Wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index is the preferred environmental heat metric for heat-related illness (HRI) prevention in the workplace and is typically measured using a heat stress monitor. Measuring the on-site WBGT with a heat stress monitor provides the most accurate localized assessment of a worker’s environmental heat exposure. However, WBGT data may not always be easily accessible for worksite heat stress evaluation. This course intends to explain the findings of a research study that assessed the reliability of a WBGT app prototype in providing accurate heat stress risk information for outdoor workers in eastern North Carolina.

Her presentation was offered through a webinar series by the AgriSafe Network. Dr. Balanay was among the many presenters throughout the week, who gave webinars on topics such as equipment safety, noise exposure prevention, suicide prevention, farmer training and confined space hazards.