Promoting healthy school environments: a step-by-step framework to improve indoor air quality in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.
Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) is highly correlated with asthma and other respiratory illnesses. As a chronic lung disease, asthma can have significant impacts on the respiratory system and other complications in large populations of the young, the elderly, and the infirm. This disease is associated with various environmental triggers in indoor environments including schools and homes. Reducing these sources of asthma triggers can lead to improved health outcomes in children. Environmental triggers of asthma and other respiratory illnesses can be reduced by systematically identifying and evaluating their sources and then developing a plan of action to prevent, control, and eliminate them. This article presents a step-by-step framework including easy-to-adopt strategies to support the development and implementation of an IAQ improvement and management plan for schools in semiurban environments with a focus on Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. The framework presented here encourages outreach, training, and consultations as key parameters for implementation of a sustainable IAQ program.
Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology (Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Health), Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA 70402, USA. ephraim.massawe@selu.edu
Ephraim
E
Massawe
Laura
L
Vasut
D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008145:Louisiana; D012574:Schools