Establishing thermal comfort: characterization of selected performance and physical properties of fabrics used in hospital operating room uniforms.

The purpose of this research was to characterize selected thermal properties of clothing fabrics available to operating room (OR) workers at the University of Alberta Hospital and to relate the thermal properties to fabric structural characteristics. In this study, we measured the thermal resistance and air permeability of fabrics obtained from surgical gowns, scrubs and warm-up jackets currently in use in ORs in a specific hospital. The results showed that the fabrics from which the surgical gowns were made provide the highest thermal insulation with lowest air permeability, while the warm-up jackets’ fabrics had the greatest air permeability with low thermal insulation values. The clothing options available to workers in the OR fall well below the predicted clothing insulation values for thermal comfort. For workers in the OR, such as anaesthesiologists, who are predominantly sedentary throughout their work shift, the lack of thermally insulating clothing options has consequences for their overall thermal comfort. This study comprises part of a larger ongoing study investigating improving the OR workers thermal comfort through clothing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]