Assessment of perceived indoor air quality in the classrooms of Slovenian primary schools and its association with indoor air quality factors, for the design of public health interventions

Galičič, An (author), Rožanec, Jan (author), Kukec, Andreja (author), Medved, Sašo (author), Eržen, Ivan (author)

From a public health perspective, it is necessary to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools. This study aims to assess the state of perceived IAQ in Slovenian school classrooms and its association with the selected IAQ factors to improve the understanding of perceived IAQ for designing public health interventions aimed to improve IAQ in schools. A national cross-sectional study was performed in all 454 Slovenian primary schools in the school year 2019/2020. The questionnaires were filled out by the 3rd-grade teachers with the support of the caretakers. Teachers rated the IAQ in the classroom as the worst in winter. We found that the teachers’ perceived IAQ in the classroom is statistically significantly associated with the micro location of the school and some of the IAQ factors. Poor IAQ is associated with reduced manual airing of classrooms due to the thermal comfort of the occupants. Interventions should be aimed at improving occupants’ adaptive behaviors to increase the frequency of natural ventilation in classrooms.

• Language: English
• Keywords: primary schools, perceived indoor air quality, indoor air quality factors, outdoor air quality factors, questionnaire, cross-sectional study
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: 11 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 15, iss. 8, art. 995
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-167880
• UDC: 614
• ISSN on article: 2073-4433
• DOI: 10.3390/atmos15080995
• COBISS.SI-ID: 205631235
• Publication date in RUL: 19.03.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Atmosphere
• Shortened title: Atmosphere
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• ISSN: 2073-4433
• COBISS.SI-ID: 522992153

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: osnovne šole, kakovost zraka

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P3-0429
• Name: Slovenski raziskovalni program za celostno obravnavo raka SLORApro

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: V3-1904
• Name: Razvoj modela za napovedovanje izpostavljenosti onesnaževalom v notranjem zraku v šolah in priprava z dokazi podprtih ukrepov za načrtovanje učinkovitega naravnega prezračevanja učilnic