Research Project Description:

HEAT-SHIELD is a research programme funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 programme which aims in addressing the negative effects of climate change, i.e., increasing workplace temperature, on its working population. The effects of heat exposure include productivity loss in many jobs, and HEAT-SHIELD will study this issue and its prevention in different sectors. In addition, heat strain as a result of the increased workplace temperature will pose health issues to the workers of the EU.

To address these issues, HEAT-SHIELD focuses on providing adaptation strategies for the five major industries of the EU and its workers: manufacturing, construction, transportation, tourism, and agriculture. Together, these industries represent 40% of the EU’s GDP and 50% of its workforce.  Thus, by ensuring the health of the workforce, we can also shield our economy from the negative effects of climate change.

Principal Investigator(s) and Coordinating Institution(s):

  • Kobenhavns Universitet, Denmark

Researchers at University of Nicosia Medical School:

  • Prof George Samoutis

UNIC Participating Institution:

  • University of Nicosia

Other Participating Institution(s):

  • Slovenia (Univerza V Ljubljani)
  • Greece (Panepistimio Thessalias)
  • United Kingdom (University of Wolverhampton)
  • Italy (Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze)
  • Switzerland (Eidgenossische Materialprufungs- Und Forschungsanstalt)
  • Netherlands (Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Tno)
  • Sweden (Lunds Universitet)
  • Switzerland (Eidgenoessisches Departement Des Innern)
  • United Kingdom (Loughborough University)
  • Slovenia (Institut Jozef Stefan)
  • Italy (Azienda Unita’ Sanitaria Locale Toscana Centro)
  • Italy (Azienda Sanitaria Di Firenze)
  • United Kingdom (Help The Aged Lbg)
  • Portugal (Universidade Do Porto)
  • Netherlands (Veiligheids- En Gezondheidsregio Gelderland-Midden)
  • Slovenia (Odelo Slovenija, Podjetje Za Razvoj, Proizvodnjo In Trzenje Avtomobilskih Delov Doo)
  • Cyprus (Center For Technology Research Andinnovation (Cetri) Ltd)
  • Greece (Sdrakas Christos)
  • Spain (Acciona Construccion SA)

Research Project Acronym: HEAT SHIELD

Funding Agency: H2020

Funding Programme: SOCIETAL CHALLENGES – Health, demographic change and well-being

Total Research Project Budget: €6,830,936

Research Project Status: Completed

Start and End Dates: 01 January 2016 – 31 December 2021

Funding Programme or Research Project Logo:

Related Links: https://www.heat-shield.eu/about

Related Publications:

  1. Morris N.B., Levi M., Morabito M., Messeri A., Ioannou L.G., Flouris A.D., Samoutis G., Pogačar T., Bogataj L.K., Piil J.F. & Nybo, L. (2021). Health vs. wealth: Employer, employee and policy-maker perspectives on occupational heat stress across multiple European industries. Temperature, 8(3): 284 – 301 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23328940.2020.1852049
  2. Ioannou L.G., Tsoutsoubi L., Samoutis G., Bogataj L.K., Kenny G.P., Nybo L., Kjellstrom T. & Flouris A.D. (2017) Time-motion analysis as a novel approach for evaluating the impact of environmental heat exposure on labor loss in agriculture workers. Temperature (Austin), 4(3): 330-340 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23328940.2017.1338210