Buildings are complex ecosystems that house trillions of microorganisms interacting with each other, with humans and with their environment. Understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that determine the diversity and composition of the built environment microbiome—the community of microorganisms that live indoors—is important for understanding the relationship between building design, biodiversity and human health. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene to quantify relationships between building attributes and airborne bacterial communities at a health-care facility. We quantified airborne bacterial community structure and environmental conditions in patient rooms exposed to mechanical or window ventilation and in outdoor air. The phylogenetic diversity of airborne bacterial communities was lower indoors than outdoors, and mechanically ventilated rooms contained less diverse microbial communities than did window-ventilated rooms. Bacterial communities in indoor environments contained many taxa that are absent or rare outdoors, including taxa closely related to potential human pathogens. Building attributes, specifically the source of ventilation air, airflow rates, relative humidity and temperature, were correlated with the diversity and composition of indoor bacterial communities. The relative abundance of bacteria closely related to human pathogens was higher indoors than outdoors, and higher in rooms with lower airflow rates and lower relative humidity. The observed relationship between building design and airborne bacterial diversity suggests that we can manage indoor environments, altering through building design and operation the community of microbial species that potentially colonize the human microbiome during our time indoors.

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Architectural design influences the diversity and structure of the built environment microbiome


 
 Summary
 The epidemics of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 highlighted both short- and long-range transmission routes, i.e. between infected patients and healthcare workers, and between distant locations. With other infections such as tuberculosis, measles and chickenpox, the concept of aerosol transmission is so well accepted that isolation of such patients is the norm. With current concerns about a possible approaching influenza pandemic, the control of transmission via infectious air has become more important. Therefore, the aim of this review is to describe the factors involved in: (1) the generation of an infectious aerosol, (2) the transmission of infectious droplets or droplet nuclei from this aerosol, and (3) the potential for inhalation of such droplets or droplet nuclei by a susceptible host. On this basis, recommendations are made to improve the control of aerosol-transmitted infections in hospitals as well as in the design and construction of future isolation facilities.
 


Iconographies supplémentaires de l'article : Factors involved in the aerosol transmission of infection and control of ventilation in healthcare premises

Healing environment: A review of the impact of physical environmental factors on users

Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic on 11 March, severe lockdown measures have been adopted by the Italian Government. For over two months of stay-at-home orders, houses became the only place where people slept, ate, worked, practiced sports, and socialized. As consolidated evidence exists on housing as a determinant of health, it is of great interest to explore the impact that COVID-19 response-related lockdown measures have had on mental health and well-being. We conducted a large web-based survey on 8177 students from a university institute in Milan, Northern Italy, one of the regions most heavily hit by the pandemic in Europe. As emerged from our analysis, poor housing is associated with increased risk of depressive symptoms during lockdown. In particular, living in apartments <60 m2 with poor views and scarce indoor quality is associated with, respectively, 1.31 (95% CI: 1046-1637), 1.368 (95% CI: 1166-1605), and 2.253 (95% CI: 1918-2647) times the risk of moderate-severe and severe depressive symptoms. Subjects reporting worsened working performance from home were over four times more likely to also report depression (OR = 4.28, 95% CI: 3713-4924). Housing design strategies should focus on larger and more livable living spaces facing green areas. We argue that a strengthened multi-interdisciplinary approach, involving urban planning, public mental health, environmental health, epidemiology, and sociology, is needed to investigate the effects of the built environment on mental health, so as to inform welfare and housing policies centered on population well-being.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/16/5973/pdf

COVID-19 lockdown: housing built environment’s effects on mental health

Feelings of restoration from recent nature visits

Objective:This report surveys and evaluates the scientific research on evidence-based healthcare design and extracts its implications for designing better and safer hospitals.Background:It builds o...

/pdf/a-review-of-the-research-literature-on-evidence-based-2oeftve5sd.pdf

A Review of the Research Literature on Evidence-Based Healthcare Design

In an effort to be more patient- and family-centered, many hospitals have recently provided nursing units that provide more space and amenities for family members. However, these units raise a conc...

Impact of Hospital Unit Design for Patient-Centered Care on Nurses’ Behavior:

Objective:Because there have been no clear directions on how to implement acuity-adaptable units (AAUs), this paper describes actual tactics and strategies that have worked in multiple institutions...

Making acuity-adaptable units work: lessons from the field.

본 연구는 애착불안 아동이 미술치료에서 촉진적인 환경과 관계의 재경험을 통해 안 정 애착으로 변화하며 자아 정체성을 형성해가는 과정에 관한 질적 사례연구이다. 연 구 문제는 애착불안 아동은 미술치료에서의 애착 형성 경험을 통해 어떻게 자아정체성 을 형성해 가는가? 이다. 연구는 2020년 2월부터 2021년 8월까지 약 1년 8개월에 걸쳐 S시에 소재한 정신건강의학과 발달센터에서 주 1회, 회기 당 40분간 총 64회가 진행되 었다. 미술치료 전 과정에서 나타난 아동의 담화를 중심으로 개방 코딩을 하여 2개의 대주제와 6개의 소주제로 범주화하였다. 본 연구의 결과, 애착불안 아동은 미술치료를 통해 안정적인 애착을 경험하고 인지적, 심리적, 행동적 변화를 보이며 자아정체성을 형성하였다. 본 연구는 애착불안 아동의 정체성 형성을 위한 미술치료 연구의 기초자료 제공에 의의를 두며 향후 다양한 미술치료 연구에 이바지할 수 있을 것으로 기대한다. 

Hyun-Bo Seo

Papers

A Review of the Research Literature on Evidence-Based Healthcare Design

Impact of Hospital Unit Design for Patient-Centered Care on Nurses’ Behavior:

Making acuity-adaptable units work: lessons from the field.

Qualitative Case Study on Identity Formation in Art Therapy Experience in Attachment-Anxiety Child