Ninth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Few studies have examined the influence of buildings on human health as a non-clinical contributor to achieving health quality, specifically among the disadvantaged populations including low-income housing residents. This study assesses indoor air quality, ventilation characteristics and health risks associated with outbreaks of infectious diseases in naturally ventilated residential buildings (NVRBs) in Nigeria. The objective is to develop a framework for synergistic interventions from public health and building sector to improve health quality. Data (N=116) from household survey, health complaints and building characteristics from Bauchi, Nigeria comprised of occupant’s exposure to indoor CO2 emission, indoor particulate matter (i.e. PM2.5 and PM10). Multivariate regression was used to examine the adjusted association between diseases/symptoms, building characteristics and operation and PMs and CO2. The multivariable modelling was found to be significantly associated with the health outcomes in the univariate analysis with p < 0.05. The mean CO2 emission indicated adequate ventilation (584 ppm). Indoor air quality (i.e. PM2.5 (63 μm/m3) and PM10 (228 μm/m3) was poor and exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value of 25 μm/m3 (PM2.5) and 50 μm/m3 (PM10). Particulate matter was found to be negatively correlated to the occurrence of some of the occupants’ health complaints but positively correlated with others such as tuberculosis, meningitis and chicken pox. In this study, certain building characteristics pose significant risk in NVRBs for certain diseases (i.e. Meningitis, Measles, Chicken pox and Influenza). Housing characteristics should be a target for public health intervention to achieving health quality in Nigeria.