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 401 - 410 of 585 | Export entire research library
Enhancement and Homogenization of Indoor Air Quality in a Classroom Using a Vertical Airflow Ventilation Scheme
Park, Su-Hoon
In the classroom with the existing ventilation system, the age of air was low in the area near the ventilation inlets, while air congestion areas were widely distributed and air age was high near the outlets. Conversely, in the vertical airflow…
Keywords: Classrooms, Ventilation, Indoor air quality, Age of air, Computational fluid dynamics
Assessment of indoor and outdoor air quality in primary schools of Cyprus during the COVID–19 pandemic measures in May–July 2021
Konstantinou, Corina
Indoor PM, temperature, RH and VOCs increased with progressing school periods in the day, while indoor CO2 decreased. Indoor RH and CO2 were negatively associated with % open windows, while indoor PM2.5 was positively associated. Most of school time…
Keywords: Indoor air quality, School, Environmental pollutants, Sensors, Exposure, COVID-19 measures
Why has the COVID-19 pandemic generated such global interest from the engineering community?
Tang, Julian W
Why has the COVID‐19 pandemic generated such global interest from the engineering community? Firstly, the nature of the COVID‐19 pandemic (by definition) is global, with SARS‐CoV‐2 spread to all populations worldwide—rather than just being limited…
Keywords:
Indoor and outdoor air concentrations of volatile organic compounds and NO2 in schools of urban, industrial and rural areas in Central-Southern Spain
Villanueva, Florentina
. The most abundant pollutants at schools were the aldehydes formaldehyde and hexanal. After carbonyls, n-dodecane was the most abundant compound in the study areas. The NO2 concentrations were higher in the urban area, followed by industrial area…
Keywords: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Carbonyl compounds, Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Indoor air quality, School, Spain
Ultrafine particles and black carbon personal exposures in asthmatic and non-asthmatic children at school age
Pañella, P
Asthmatics and non-asthmatics spent the same amount of time at home (60% and 61%, respectively), at school (20% and 23%), on transportation (8% and 7%), and in other microenvironments (7% and 5%). The highest concentrations of all TRAPs were…
Keywords: Asthma, Black carbon, Children, Microenvironments, Personal monitoring, Ultrafine particles
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…
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Assessment of ultrafine particles in primary schools: Emphasis on different indoor microenvironments
Slezakova
Overall, UFP concentrations showed large temporal and spatial variations. For classrooms (n = 73), median UFP (1.56 × 103–16.8 × 103 # cm−3) were lower than the corresponding levels in ambient air of schools (1.79 × 103–24.1 × 103 # cm−3). Outdoor…
Keywords: Ultrafine particles, Indoor air quality, Children, Microenvironments, Outdoor air, Inhalation dose
Risk Assessment and Implications of Schoolchildren Exposure to Classroom Heavy Metals Particles in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Alghamdi, Mansour A
. Heavy metals levels in CACF particles of schools were in the following order: urban schools > suburban schools > residential schools. Fe, Mn and Zn were the dominant species. Geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (CF) and…
Keywords: Classrooms air conditioner filter particles, Heavy metals, Contamination level, Indoor air quality, Health, Risk
Indoor fungal diversity in primary schools may differently influence allergic sensitization and asthma in children
Rufo, João Cavaleiro
Classrooms with increased diversity scores showed a significantly lower prevalence of children with atopic sensitization, but not asthma. The risk of sensitization increased with increasing endotoxin exposure in classrooms. Similarly, significantly…
Keywords: Endotoxins, Exposure, Fungi, Indoor air, Microbiologic diversity, microbiome, School, Sensitization
Reopening higher education buildings in post-epidemic COVID-19 scenario: monitoring and assessment of indoor environmental quality after implementing ventilation protocols in Spain and Portugal
de le Hoz-Torres, María L
Results showed that although renewal air protocols were effective and the mean CO2 concentration levels remained low (742 ppm and 519 ppm in Portugal and Spain universities, respectively), students were dissatisfied with the current indoor…
Keywords: Building management, Built environment, Indoor environmental quality, New-normal scenario, Sensor monitoring