| 1. |
- Angelova, Radostina A., et al.
(författare)
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The response rate in postal epidemiological studies in the context of national cultural behaviour
- 2012
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Ingår i: 10th International Conference on Healthy Buildings 2012. - 9781627480758 ; , s. 1429-1434
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of national cultural differences on the response rate, obtained in questionnaire based epidemiological studies on allergy and asthma, performed in Sweden (DBH) and Bulgaria (ALLHOME). The two studies used one and the same methodology, but the obtained response rate was different: 78.8% in DBH and 34.5% in ALLHOME. The differences in the obtained response rate and the reasons for these differences were analyzed on the basis of the Hofstede's cultural dimensions' indexes, which clearly show the distinction in the national cultural behaviour of people in Sweden and Bulgaria. It was found that national culture could strongly influence the response behaviour of people in epidemiological studies and Hofstede's indexes can be useful tool when designing and performing epidemiological studies, and in particular - questionnaire surveys.
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| 2. |
- Morawska, Lidia, et al.
(författare)
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Mandating indoor air quality for public buildings : if some countries lead by example, standards may increasingly become normalized
- 2024
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Ingår i: Science. - 0036-8075. ; 383:6690, s. 1418-1420
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- People living in urban and industrialized societies, which are expanding globally, spend more than 90% of their time in the indoor environment, breathing indoor air (IA). Despite decades of research and advocacy, most countries do not have legislated indoor air quality (IAQ) performance standards for public spaces that address concentration levels of IA pollutants. Few building codes address operation, maintenance, and retrofitting, and most do not focus on airborne disease transmission. But the COVID-19 pandemic has made all levels of society, from community members to decision-makers, realize the importance of IAQ for human health, wellbeing, productivity, and learning. We propose that IAQ standards be mandatory for public spaces. Although enforcement of IAQ performance standards in homes is not possible, homes must be designed and equipped so that they could meet the standards.For the past two decades, scientists have called for national IAQ standards and laws to be established (2), but so far, little action has been taken. The approach to IA contrasts sharply with outdoor air, for which quality is regulated and monitored and compliance with regulations is enforced. The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) published in 2021 provide recommendations for concentration levels of six pollutants and their averaging times (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, and O3) and apply to both outdoor air and IA (3).In cases for which IAQ standard and guideline values were established by national or association working groups, the outcomes were inconsistent; often the criteria for the same parameter differed by orders of magnitude. The reasons cited for limited progress include different criteria in the selection of the critical study, in the starting point, and in the derivation procedure; the complex political, social, and legislative situation regarding IAQ; the lack of an open, systematic, and harmonized approach; and that establishing an IAQ standard is always the result of a compromise between scientific knowledge and political will. Because of the heterogenous landscape of approaches needed, such barriers remain intact despite the considerable IAQ research and evidence base developed over the past decades.
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