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 191 - 200 of 355 | Export entire research library
Association between fungal spore exposure in inner-city schools and asthma morbidity
Baxi, Sachin
Fungal spores were present in all classroom samples. The geometric mean of the total fungi was 316.9 spores/m3 and ranged from 15.0 to 59,345.7 spores/m3. There was variability in total fungus quantity between schools and classrooms within the same…
Keywords:
Asthma symptoms among Chinese children: the role of ventilation and PM10 exposure at school and home
Fan, X-J
The prevalence of current wheeze, daytime attacks of breathlessness, nocturnal cough, nocturnal respiratory symptoms and RI was respectively 4.4%, 18.7%, 11.6%, 3.6% and 32.3%. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at home was associated with daytime…
Keywords: Asthmatic symptoms, Dampness, Particulate matter (PM), Respiratory infections, School students
Passive PM2.5 control plan of educational buildings by using airtight improvement technologies in South Korea
Yang, Sungwoong
As a result of the experiment, it was analyzed that air leakage was reduced by up to 37% and fine dust by 22%.
Keywords: Particulate matter (PM), School, Educational buildings, Air-tightness, Infiltration, Particulate matter (PM)
School Environmental Intervention Programs
Permaul, Perdita
Although years of previous research have linked exposures in the urban home environment with significant childhood asthma disease, many of these allergens are also present in inner-city school environments. Therefore, evaluation of the school…
Keywords: Asthma, Environment, Allergy, Pollutants, Inner-city, Home, School, Intervention, Integrated pest management
A systematic approach to quantify the influence of indoor environmental parameters on students' perceptions, responses, and short-term academic performance
Brink HW
During the pilot study, the IEQ of the classrooms varied slightly. Significant associations (p < 0.05) were observed between these natural variations and students' perceptions of the thermal environment and indoor air quality. These…
Keywords: Performance, Classrooms' indoor environmental quality, Health, Higher education, Student responses, Quality of learning
Indoor air pollution effects on pediatric asthma are submicron aerosol particle-dependent
Justine, Izabele
The incidence of asthma per school ranged from 1.8 to 6.0%. Mean indoor air pollution based on measurements in classrooms during the lessons was calculated for each school. Levels of PNC and PMC in schools ranged between 33.0 and 168.0 particles/cm3…
Keywords: Asthma, Indoor aerosol pollution, Particle number concentration, Particle mass concentration, Particle size range, Primary schools, Children
Does dampness and mold in schools affect health? Results of a meta-analysis
Fisk, William J
The evidence of adverse health effects was strongest for cough and wheeze, which had confidence limits excluding unity in some or all analyses. The odds ratios of 1.32 for cough and 1.68 for wheeze suggest moderate increases in health risk. Studies…
Keywords: Dampness, Health, Meta-analysis, Mold, Respiratory, School
School attendance and daily respiratory symptoms in children: influence of moisture damage
Casas, L
We combined country-specific estimates (incidence rate ratios [IRRs] and 95% confidence interval [CI]) in meta-analyses. Symptom scores were lower during weekends and holiday. Lower respiratory tract symptoms were statistically significantly less…
Keywords: Children, Daily symptoms, Dampness, Mild, Respiratory health, School anttendance
A chemical dynamic model for the infiltration of outdoor size-resolved ammonium nitrate aerosols to indoor environments
Xie, Yangyang
Comparisons between the predicted and measured concentrations of these aerosols showed a mean relative error of 4.8 ± 18.3%. To analyze the sensitivity of model parameters, several parameters were perturbed. This analysis indicated that parameters…
Keywords: Ammonium nitrate, Chemical equilibrium, Indoor aerosols, Infiltration, Reversible reaction, Size distribution
Investigation of CO2 production depending on physical activity of students
Kapalo, Peter
Results of objective measurements confirmed strong correlation between CO2
concentration occupancy for all measurements. Recommended value for indoor CO2
level according to Pettenkofer (1,000 ppm) was exceeding in 60.9%. Results of…
Keywords: Educational buildings, Indoor environment, Carbon dioxide (CO2), Physical activity