A new study is investigating the link between improved air quality in schools in Colorado and student absenteeism. The study is being conducted by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment and the University of Colorado Boulder.
Is air quality in school classrooms linked to student absenteeism?
Thousands of air quality monitors and portable air cleaners have been installed in Colorado school classrooms with the aim of collecting information and contributing to student’s well-being. Speaking of environmental health, it is crucial to determine whether indoor air quality in classrooms is associated with student absenteeism and/or with the development of respiratory diseases such as SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). To achieve this, desk- and nose-swabbing will be conducted to detects viruses; indoor air quality assessments and research will do the rest.
Air quality monitoring in schools: tools of this research
The research work began in 2023, with the installation of indoor air quality monitors in many Colorado classrooms .These monitors collects data on the levels of airborne particulate matter, carbon dioxide, and volatile organic chemicals, temperature, and humidity.
After air quality monitors, portable air cleaners have been installed, based on the results of a previous 2021 study in Denver elementary schools. That study, regarding both schools with and without air purifiers, revealed that the levels of respirable airborne particulated lowered in the classrooms where air cleaners were used. The difference between the two studies is that the new one is being conducted on broader scale. In this study, it will be very important to consider cofactors too: what’s the difference in air quality between schools located in area with clean outdoor air and schools built in industrial areas, near highways, or in areas with high levels of outdoor pollution?
School safety and why it is essential to lower student absenteeism rates
It is very important to discover any possible links between school absenteeism rates and school air quality. First of all, it is a matter of school safety. Secondly (but not less importantly), when younger students remain home, one of the parents or a relative needs to stay with them, with the risk of infecting them, especially if they are weak subjects, like grandparents.
If there’s a way to reduce the risk of contracting illnesses at school, it must be implemented without hesitation. To obtain study results, the collected data will be compared to the number of absences and associated with information about the classroom air quality during that same period. Click here to get more details about the study.
Remotair for school safety
As Remotair, we can help you protect children’s health and prevent them from getting ill at school. When HVAC systems are present in school buildings, a very valid option is to install a system inside the ducts and AHus that will conduct automatic HVAC inspections thanks to its next-generation cameras. Remotair will detect any risk of HVAC contamination and you’ll be able to adddress this issue before dangerous pollutants gets in the air that students breathe! This is definitely one of the most important steps you can take to improve indoor air quality in schools. Go to remotair.com to discover what we can do for you!
