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 51 - 60 of 284 | Export entire research library
Long-term perceptions of outdoor thermal environments in an elementary school in a hot-humid climate
Shih, Wen-Mei
During summer months, the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) of these outdoor spaces in over 60% of the daytime in summer between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. was higher than 38 °C PET, indicating high heat stress. The results of occupants’ long-term…
Keywords: Thermal comfort, Pet, Sky view factor, Long-term thermal perceptions
Students’ Perceived Heat-Health Symptoms Increased with Warmer Classroom Temperatures
Bidassey-Manilal, Shalin
A high proportion of students felt tired (97.2%), had low concentration (96.8%) and felt sleepy (94.1%) during at least one hour on any day. There were statistically significant correlations, when controlling for school cluster effect and time of…
Keywords: Temperature, Health, School, South Africa, Climate change
School environmental factors are predictive for exercise-induced symptoms in children
Stelmach, Iwona
1033 participants were included into the analysis. Sixty seven(6.5%) children reported dyspnea/cough, and in 94(9.4%) children bronchoconstriction induced during PE lesson was documented. There is a correlation between the results of the ETC and…
Keywords: Exercise-induced cough, Exercise-induced bronchospasm, PE classes, Schoolchildren
Is School Type Associated with Objectively Measured Physical Activity in 15-Year-Olds?
Štefan, Lovro
Males and females from grammar schools achieved higher total daily energy expenditure (TEE) and active energy expenditure (AEE) compared to their peers from vocational schools (TEE: 50 ± 12 kcal/kg/day vs. 47 ± 12 kcal/kg/day, p = 0.02; AEE: 23 ± 5…
Keywords: Children, Adolescents, Epidemiology, Sensewear armband, High school type, Energy expenditure
Environmental Exposures in Singapore Schools: An Ecological Study
Periyakoil, Divya
The analysis revealed that the distance traveled between home and school for public school students falls within a larger range than that for independent (private) school students. On average, students traveled farther distances to attend schools of…
Keywords: Environmental, Thermal comfort, Children's health, Pollution, Academic performance, School, Population health, Ecological study
Thermal Comfort in School Classes in the Era of Global Warming: A Prospective Multicenter Study
Golshan, T
The statistically significant difference between the "cold season survey" score of 4.04 (discomfort) and "warm-season survey" score of 3.47 (slight discomfort) (p = .04) indicates that students feel more thermal discomfort during…
Keywords: Adolescent health, Adolescents, Cross-national research, Global warming, School physical environment, Thermal comfort
Evaluation of drinking water quality in schools in a District Area in Hanoi, Vietnam
Hung, Dang The
All of the schools employed community water system as a main source for drinking water. The results showed that all tested samples were found to be within the standards for some physicochemical properties, including Color, Taste and Odor, Hardness…
Keywords: Drinking water, Tap water, Water quality, Chemicals, Microbes, Hanoi, Vietnam
Is direct-drinking water safe for children? An analysis of direct-drinking water quality and its risk factors in Shanghai elementary and middle schools
Hu, Fen
Results showed that the CFU, residual chlorine, COD, and turbidity of direct-drinking water in Shanghai elementary and middle schools ranged from <LOD->300 cfu/mL, <LOD-0.670 mg/L, 0.090–2.710 mg/L, and 0.100–2.050 NTU, respectively. The…
Keywords: Direct drinking water, Elementary and middle school, Children, Water safety, Health
Predicting virologically confirmed influenza using school absences in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA during the 2007-2015 influenza seasons
Quandelacy, Talia M
School districts reported 2 184 220 all-cause absences (2010-2015). Three one-season studies reported 19 577 all-cause and 3012 ILI-related absences (2007, 2012, 2015). Over seven seasons, 11 946 confirmed influenza cases were reported. Absences…
Keywords: Human influenza, Prediction, School-aged children, Surveillance
Investigation of bacterial and fungal communities in indoor and outdoor air of elementary school classrooms by 16S rRNA gene and ITS region sequencing
Lee, Bong Gu
The bacterial community was richer in outdoor air than classroom air, whereas fungal diversity was similar indoors and outdoors. Bacteria such as Enhydrobacter, Micrococcus, and Staphylococcus that are generally found in human skin, mucous membrane…
Keywords: Classroom air, Elementary school classrooms, Microbial communities, Next generation sequencing