INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SICK BUILDING SYNDROMES IN NATURALLY VENTILATED EDUCATIONAL LABORATORIES: CASE STUDY FROM ISRAA UNIVERSITY-GAZA

The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in university buildings highly affect the health of students which they may experience a series of non-specific symptoms from being in that building. This paper aims to estimate the prevalence of sick building syndromes (SBS) symptoms and to clarify the perceived indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in Eastern Mediterranean climate. Data on perceived IEQ satisfaction score of air, temperature, noise, health symptoms were obtained from university students by using a validated questionnaire. A series of field measurements were conducted in naturally ventilated laboratories located in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. The results showed that most of participants (66.22%) did not feel comfortable in the laboratories environment in terms of heat, and (55.41 %) of student’s perceptions were not satisfied with the humidity conditions. The prevalence rates of general symptoms were relatively high. The most commonly reported symptoms were fatigue (43.24%), and nervousness (40.57%). The listed symptoms were associated significantly with education year (OR= 4.48) and gender (OR= 3.9). Our findings have potential implications for using perceived indoor environmental quality as a valuable tool for environmental health impact assessments and for the development of healthy building policies to find alternative solutions to achieve thermal comfort.