Introduction: School-age children and adolescents spend almost 12% of their lives in the school environment. Poor indoor air quality in schools is associated with the impact on students' health and their educational performance. Due to the higher respiratory rate, incompletely developed lungs and still developing immune system, children are classified as a vulnerable population group. Purpose: The purpose of the master thesis is to define the potential factors of the indoor and outdoor environment that affect indoor air quality in an educational setting and to assess the prevalence of the identified factors in Slovenian primary schools. Methods: In the first phase, we conducted a systematic literature review to investigate the factors that affect indoor air quality in educational settings. In the second phase, we analysed the results of the questionnaire survey, conducted in Slovenian primary schools as part of the targeted research project number V3-1904. By analysing the results of the questionnaire, we assessed the prevalence of the identified factors that affect indoor air quality in primary schools in Slovenia according to micro location. The assessment of the association between the micro location of primary schools and the selected factors that affect indoor air was statistically tested using the Pearson Chi-Square test. Results: Based on a systematic review of the literature, we found that the most common sources of indoor air pollution were proximity to busy roads and user activity in classrooms. 355 out of 454 primary schools in Slovenia responded to the questionnaire. In Slovenian school cases studied, we have found that traffic road is the most common outdoor source affecting indoor air quality in the city centre and in the suburbs/small town. In the village/rural area, the most common outdoor source was residential area with individual wood-burning stoves. Factors such as the 200-metre distance of the primary school from potential pollution sources, the distance from the nearest major road and the energy source used to heat the school building are statistically significantly associated with the micro location of the primary school. Discussion and conclusion: Based on the systematic literature review, we found that both outdoor and indoor factors have a significant impact on indoor air quality in educational settings. The main results of our cross-sectional study showed that the micro location of primary schools in Slovenia is statistically significantly associated with only certain outdoor factors that affect indoor air quality. Knowing the factors that affect indoor air quality gives us important insights into the discussed issues and a focus on the most pressing issues with regard to reducing the concentrations of pollutants in kindergarten playrooms and school classrooms.
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