William H. Farquhar Middle School, Olney, MD. Photo credit: Patrick Ross
School Health Research Library
We have curated a library of peer-reviewed scientific studies from around the world published since 2016, focusing on the school built environment and occupant health and performance. This research builds on the 2017 Schools for Health: Foundations for Student Success report released by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that synthesizes foundational research about school indoor environmental quality impacts on students and staff.
To help translate this research into action in schools, we have compiled School Health Research Highlights to help school staff and leaders access key findings and actionable strategies on priority topics.
Displaying 151 - 160 of 355 | Export entire research library
Data on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in kindergartens with different surrounding activities
Abdullah, Samsuri
The chemical parameters measured were respirable suspended particulates of PM10, PM2.5, PM1, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and the concentrations are within the acceptable limit. Physical parameters of wind speed are within the standard, while…
Keywords: Indoor air quality, Kindergartens, Temperature, Residential, Thermal comfort
Room-level ventilation in schools and universities
McNeill, V Faye
We have presented a number of practical approaches for gathering room-level ventilation data for educational spaces, and anecdotal examples of their application in a range of building and room types, and climates across the U.S. In particular,…
Keywords: Ventilation, HVAC, Indoor air, School, Sensors
Assessment of indoor air quality and risk of COVID-19 infection in Spanish secondary school and university classrooms
Rodríguez, Diana
University classrooms, particularly the mechanically ventilated one, presented better ventilation conditions than the secondary school classrooms, as well as better thermal comfort conditions. The estimated Hr for COVID-19 ranged from intermediate (…
Keywords: Classrooms, Ventilation, Indoor air quality, Hygrothermal comfort, Airborne transmission, COVID-19 infection risk
Indoor bacterial load and its correlation to physical indoor air quality parameters in public primary schools
Andualem, Zewudu
The grand total mean bacterial load was 2826.35 CFU/m3 in the morning and 4514.63 CFU/m3 in the afternoon. The lowest and highest mean bacterial load was recorded at school 3 (450.67 CFU/m3) and school 5 (7740.57 CFU/m3) in the morning and afternoon…
Keywords: Bacterial load, Classrooms, Correlation, Indoor air, Settle plate method
Self-reported voice disorders of teachers and indoor air quality in schools: a cross-sectional study in Finland
Buonocore, Jonathan
Teachers with voice disorders reported significantly more complaints from indoor air than those without voice disorders. The results also indicated a possible connection between the technical assessment and voice disorders. After adjustment for sex…
Keywords: Voice disorder, Teachers, School buildings, Work environment, Indoor air, Technical assessment, Perceived, Complaints
Traffic-related Air Pollution and Attention in Primary School Children: Short-term Association
Sunyer, Jordi
Daily ambient levels of both NO2 and EC were negatively associated with all attention processes (e.g., children in the bottom quartile of daily exposure to ambient NO2 levels had a 14.8 msecond [95% confidence interval, 11.2, 18.4] faster response…
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Measuring students’ exposure to particulate matter (PM) pollution across microenvironments and seasons using personal air monitors
Ryan, Ian
Children were consistently exposed to higher PM2.5 concentrations in the fall (median: fall = 2.84, spring = 2.31, winter = 0.90 µg/m3). At school, 2.19% of PM2.5 measurements exceeded the EPA annual fine particle standard, 12 µg/m3 (winter = 7.38…
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Exposure to ultrafine particles in children until 18 years of age: A systematic review
García-Hernández, Celia
The characteristics of the microenvironments with the greatest levels of UFP were being close to heavy traffic or near cooking and cleaning activities. This review revealed the wide differences in exposure assessment methodologies that could lead to…
Keywords: Air pollution, Children, Microenvironments, Personal exposure, Systematic review, Ultrafine particles
Characterising and communicating the potential hazard posed by potentially toxic elements in indoor dusts from schools across Lagos, Nigeria
Famuyiwa, Abimola
Results showed that the indoor dust samples were largely uncontaminated, with only few exceptions (2 samples). Enrichment factor pollution trend for the total PTE concentrations was in the order of Pb > Zn > U > Cr > Cu > Ba > Mn…
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VENTILATION: WHY does no one take it seriously?
Sundell, Jan
The main problem is that ventilation has been mainly seen as an engineering problem, but in reality, it is a public health topic.
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