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 81 - 90 of 355 | Export entire research library
Myopia and daylight in schools: a neglected aspect of public health?
Hobday, R
Recent research strongly suggests that the amount of light children get as they grow determines whether they will develop short sight; however, evidence that daylight in classrooms prevents myopia is lacking. Given the rapid increase in prevalence…
Keywords: School design, Myopia, Rickets, Vitamin D, Daylight
The influence of ambient aroma on middle school students' academic emotions
Yuanguang, Ma
The findings revealed that the middle school students preferred the aroma of sweet orange essential oil. Also, the ambient aroma of this substance could mitigate the reduction of positive academic emotions and improve negative academic emotions in…
Keywords: Ambient aroma, Middle school student, Academic emotion
Evaluation on exposures to particulate matter at a junior secondary school: a comprehensive study on health risks and effective inflammatory responses in Northwestern China
Xu, H
The incremental lifetime cancer risks associated with PAHs were estimated and were 1.62 × 10−6 and 2.34 × 10−6, respectively, for indoor and outdoor fine PMs. Both the values exceeded the threshold value of 1 × 10−6, demonstrating that the…
Keywords: BC and PAHS, Cancer risks, Feno, Health assessment, Northwestern china, Particulate matter (PM)
"Sow, Grow, Know, and Show": The Impact of School Gardens on Student Self-Perception in the Mississippi Delta
Holmes, E
While no effect on standardized test scores could be determined, students increased garden knowledge and reported feeling positive about their future, teamwork, and leadership ability. These results were supported by observations of student joy,…
Keywords: School gardens, Mississippi delta, Garden knowledge, Self-perception
Residential and school greenspace and academic performance: Evidence from the GINIplus and LISA longitudinal studies of German adolescent
Maekevych, I
No associations were observed between any of the greenspace variables and grades in Wesel children. Several statistically significant associations were observed with German and maths grades in Munich children, however associations were inconsistent…
Keywords: Greenness, Green space, Grades, Learning, Children, Epidemiology
Indoor environmental quality, allergens, and surface biocontamination in tribal homes and schools from Cherokee Nation
Shaughnessy, R
The median cat, dog, and
cockroach allergen concentrations in the fall were medium to high
in homes (0.9-1.6 mg/g) and even higher in schools (0.8-2.0 mg/g).
Increased concentrations were observed in the winter, to levels…
Keywords:
A slight increase in reverberation time in the classroom affects performance and behavioral listening effort
Prodi, Nicola
While the longer reverberation time did not significantly affect
accuracy or RTs under the quiet condition, it had several effects when
in combination with classroom noise, depending on the task measured.
A significant drop in…
Keywords: Children, Classroom acoustics, Comprehension, Listening effort, Math, Reverberation, Speech perception
The real and subjective indoor environmental quality in schools
Meciarova, L
Very high CO2 levels were determined in both investigated schools. In three of four classrooms the statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) were reported between TVOC
levels in autumn and spring. The recommended value for TVOC…
Keywords: Subjective perception, IEQ, School, Children
Associations of greenness surrounding schools with blood pressure and hypertension: A nationwide cross- sectional study of 61,229 children and adolescents in China
Luo, Y
One interquartile range increase in greenness was associated with a 17%–20% reduced prevalence of hypertension for all measures of greenness (odds ratios for VCF500m = 20% (95% CI:18%, 23%); for NDVI500m = 17% (95% CI:13%, 21%); and for SAVI500m =…
Keywords: Green space, Blood pressure, Cardiovascular health, Pediatrics, Epidemiology
A virtual speaker in noisy classroom conditions: supporting or disrupting children's listening comprehension?
Nirme, J
We found significantly fewer correct answers to explicit content questions after listening in
noise. This negative effect was only mitigated to a marginally significant degree by audio-visual presentation. Strong executive function only…
Keywords: Listening, Comprehension, Noise, Education, Multimodality, Virtual humans, Education, Classrooms