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 281 - 290 of 585 | Export entire research library
School and childcare facility air quality decision-makers' perspectives on using low-cost sensors for wildfire smoke response
Stampfer, Orly
Three major themes were identified by organizing complementary codes together: (1) Low-cost sensors are useful despite data quality limitations, (2) Low-cost sensor data can inform decision-making to protect children in school and childcare settings…
Keywords: Indoor air quality, Interviews, Low-cost sensors, particulate matter, Schools, Wildfire smoke.
Bangkok school indoor air quality: monitoring and intervention by positive pressure fresh air system
Ongwandee, Maneerat
The indoor-to-outdoor concentration ratios indicated that either outdoor sources or indoor + outdoor sources were the predominant contributors to PM in naturally ventilated classrooms. Meanwhile, PM levels in air-conditioned classrooms strongly…
Keywords: School indoor air quality, Positive pressure fresh air system, PM 2.5, Indoor environmental quality, Ventilation
Effects of Allergen Exposure and Environmental Risk Factors in Schools on Childhood Asthma
Yarsky, Eva
Cockroach, mouse, dust mites, fungi, viral infections, ozone pollution, and cleaning products are common allergen exposures and environmental risk factors in schools which may affect asthma morbidity. Novel modifiable environmental risk factors in…
Keywords: pediatric asthma, Schools, Environmental exposures, obstructive lung disease
Vertical stratification and seasonality of fecal indicator bacteria in New York City playground sandboxes
Leri, Alessandra C.
A longitudinal study of thirteen sandboxes located in public playgrounds on the east side of Manhattan reveals ubiquity of the fecal indicator bacteria enterococci and Escherichia coli through all seasons. The highest concentrations of bacteria…
Keywords: Fecal indicator bacteria, Urban environmental health, Children's environmental health, Sandbox, Sand, Microcosm, Microbial source tracking, Enterococci, Escherichia coli
Association among polydisperse aerodynamic size of bioaerosols, biodiversity and urbanization in kindergartens
Lin, Tsu-Hsien
The results revealed that 1425 colonies of the sampled airborne bacteria contained 63 species in 29 genera, and overall, 63.0% were HABs. The most abundant phylum was Actinobacteria (56.6 +/- 22.2%) and Firmicutes (31.6 +/- 22.3%), and from the…
Keywords: Bioaerosol, Biodiversity, Human-associated bacteria, Kindergarten, Size distribution
Assessment of personal deposited dose and particle size distribution of bacterial aerosol in kindergarten located in southern Poland
Br?goszewska, Eva
The highest average concentration of bacterial aerosol was observed during autumn (1698 +/- 663 CFU/m3) in comparison to winter months (723 +/- 134 CFU/m3). Respirable doses for children and staff were 2945 and 2441 CFU/day during winter and 5988…
Keywords: Bacterial aerosol, Bioaerosol, Exposure dose, Kindergarten, Microbiological indoor air quality, Size distribution
Indoor environmental quality in naturally ventilated schools of a dusty region: Excess health risks and effect of heating and desert dust transport
Sahin, Cagri
The median CO2 concentration was measured to be >1000 ppm in all seasons/schools. Temperature and RH fell out of the comfort zone in October-December, during which pollutant concentrations were considerably increased, specifically in November,…
Keywords: Dust transport, Excess risk, Indoor air quality, Indoor environmental quality, particulate matter, primary schools.
Ventilation during COVID-19 in a school for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)
Zand, Martin S.
97% of rooms had an estimated ACH ?4.0, with 7% having CO2 levels ?2,000 ppm for up to 3 hours per school day. A statistically significant correlation was found between the time that a room had CO2 levels ?1,000 ppm and SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests…
Keywords:
Evaluation of the Relationship between Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) with Indoor PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 in Suburban and Urban Schools
Isa, Khairul Nizam Mohd
We found that the median of FeNO in the school children from urban areas (22.0 ppb, IQR = 32.0) were slightly higher as compared to the suburban group (19.5 ppb, IQR = 24.0). After adjustment of potential confounders, the two-level hierarchical…
Keywords: Feno, School children, Urban, suburban, indoor pollutants
Evaluation of Different Natural Ventilation Strategies by Monitoring the Indoor Air Quality Using CO2 Sensors
Sanchez-Fernandez, Ana
Concluding results have allowed us to determine the maximum number of students allowed in a closed room to maintain CO2 levels at normal concentrations and the time needed to reduce these CO2 levels depending on the ventilation strategy adopted.…
Keywords: CO2, ventilation strategies, monitoring, Indoor air quality, Pollution