Influence of Cold Environment on Skin Temperature Measurements in an Evaluation Shelter in Japan

Abstract

As Japan is known as a country vulnerable to many natural disasters, disaster preparedness is important. Local governments operate evacuation shelters in disasters; however, designated evacuation shelters in the community are not well prepared in advance. Furthermore, with the outbreak of the coronavirus infection, it has become necessary to take measures, such as measurement of temperature and health monitoring prior to admission, against infection at evacuation shelters. This study aimed to determine the effect of outside temperature on skin temperature at the time of admission to an evacuation shelter during disaster training in a cold environment. The study participants were 21 individuals who participated in disaster training. After the participants had waited outdoors for 10 minutes and before participating in disaster training, data were collected retrospectively, by measuring the forehead and axillary temperatures. The forehead temperature was 36.9 (36.7–37.4) °C at the time of training participation and 35.4 (33.4–36.1) °C at the time of shelter entry; the difference in temperature was significant (p<.001). In contrast, the axillary temperature was 36.6 (36.5–36.8) °C at the time of training participation and 36.8 (36.5–37.0) °C at the time of shelter admission, and this difference in temperature was not significant. The results indicate that it is important to consider in advance the methods of infection control at the time of admission to the evacuation shelter when a disaster occurs in winter. The measures include the site where body temperature is measured along with the method of health observation, and taking into account the structure of the building.