Main description:

This interdisciplinary guide offers background, research findings, and practical strategies for assessing and improving air quality in hospitals and other healthcare settings. Positing good air quality as critical to patient and staff well-being, it identifies disease-carrying microbes, pollutants, and other airborne toxins and their health risks, and provides localized interventions for reducing transmission of pathogens. Effective large-scale approaches to air quality control are also outlined, from green building materials to hygienic HVAC and air treatment practices. Its thoroughness of coverage makes this book a vital resource for professionals involved in every aspect of health service facilities, from planning and construction to maintenance and management.

Among the topics covered:

Existing guidelines in indoor air quality: the case study of hospital environments

Hospital environments and epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections

Analysis of microorganisms in hospital environments and potential risks

Legionella indoor air contamination in healthcare environments

HVAC system design in healthcare facilities and control of aerosol contaminants

Assessment of indoor air quality in inpatient wards

Indoor Air Quality in Healthcare Facilities imparts up-to-date expertise to a variety of professional readers, including hospitals' technical and management departments, healthcare facilities' chief medical officers, hospital planners, sport and thermal building designers, public health departments, and students of universities and schools of hygiene.

Contents:

Foreword: Improving the Hospital's Indoor Air Quality
Carlo Signorelli and Stefano Capolongo
Indoor Air Quality in Healing Environments: Impacts of Physical, Chemical, and Biological Environmental Factors on UsersStefano Capolongo and Gaetano Settimo
Existing Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: The Case Study of Hospital EnvironmentsGaetano Settimo
Applications of IAQ Monitoring in International Healthcare SystemsMarco Gola, Ambra Mele, Barbara Tolino, and Stefano Capolongo
Hospital Environments and Epidemiology of Healthcare-Associated InfectionsDaniela D'Alessandro and Gaetano Maria Fara
Analysis of Microorganisms in Hospital Environments and Potential RisksLucia Bonadonna, Rossella Briancesco, and Anna Maria CocciaLegionella Indoor Air Contamination in Healthcare EnvironmentsMaria Teresa Montagna, Osvalda De Giglio, Maria Luisa Cristina, Roberto Albertini, Cesira Pasquarella, GISIO-SItI Working Group, AIA Working Group, and SIMPIOS Working Group
Environmentally Friendly and Low-Emissivity Construction Materials and FurnitureIlaria Oberti
HVAC System Design in Healthcare Facilities and Control of Aerosol Contaminants: Issues, Tools, and ExperimentsCesare Maria Joppolo and Francesco Romano
HVAC Management in Health FacilitiesUmberto Moscato, Alice Borghini, and Adele Anna Teleman
Assessment of Indoor Air Quality in Inpatient WardsGaetano Settimo, Marco Gola, Veruscka Mannoni, Marco De Felice, Giorgio Padula, Ambra Mele, Barbara Tolino, and Stefano Capolongo
Perspectives of Air Quality Control in Healthcare Facilities: ConclusionsGaetano Maria Fara
Index