Association between sick building syndrome and indoor environmental quality in Slovenian hospitals : a cross-sectional study

Kalender Smajlović, Sedina (author), Kukec, Andreja (author), Dovjak, Mateja (author)

Increased exposure times to various health risk factors and the vulnerability of building users might result in significantly higher prevalence rates of sick building syndrome (SBS) in a hospital setting compared to other indoor environments. The purpose of our study was to assess the association between SBS symptoms and measured environmental parameters at a Slovenian general hospital. A combination of a self-assessment study and field measurements was conducted in order to estimate the health risk factors for SBS symptoms among the users of a Slovenian general hospital. The Chi-square test was used to analyse the association between observed health and environmental parameters. The response rate was 67.5%. A total of 12.0% of healthcare workers at hospital wards reported at least six SBS symptoms, 19.0% reported 2–3 SBS symptoms. At the observed hospital wards, the most deviations were recorded for the level of lighting (83.3%), noise level (73.6%), and room temperature (55.3%). A statistically significant association was found between indoor environmental quality and skin-related SBS symptoms (χ$^2$ = 0.009; p = 0.006). This information will be of great value in defining an integral strategy of environmental health activities aimed at healthier indoor environmental quality in hospitals.

• Language: English
• Keywords: hospital ward, health risk factors, parameters, sick building syndrome, integral strategy, environmental health activities
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine; FGG - Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2019
• Number of pages: 18 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 16, iss. 17, art. 3224
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-132767
• UDC: 614:699.8(497.4)
• ISSN on article: 1661-7827
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16173224
• COBISS.SI-ID: 8881505
• Publication date in RUL: 02.11.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of environmental research and public health
• Shortened title: Int. j. environ. res. public health
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1661-7827
• COBISS.SI-ID: 1024430420

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.
• Licensing start date: 03.09.2019

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: stavbe, bolniški oddelek, dejavniki tveganja za zdravje, parametri, sindrom bolne stavbe, celovita strategija, dejavnosti okoljskega zdravja

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0142
• Name: Bio-psiho-socialni konteksti kineziologije

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P2-0158
• Name: Gradbene konstrukcije in gradbena fizika