House occupants' health conditions and their living conditions
Date
2019Citation:
Su, B., & Wu, L. (2019). House Occupants' Health Conditions and Their Living Conditions. In Emery, T. & McLean, I. (eds.), Toitū te kāinga, toitū te ora, toitū te tangata: Healthy homes, healthy people. Report for Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities Kāinga Tahi, Kāinga Rua. Chapter 2. pp. 28-46 (Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology). Porirua, New Zealand:. Retrieved from https://www.buildingbetter.nz/publications/ktkr/Emery_McLean_Eds_2019_Toitu_te_kainga.pdf.Permanent link to Research Bank record:
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/4784Abstract
This study focuses on participants’ health conditions, related to their living conditions, in the Minginui, Te Whaiti and Murupara areas of New Zealand. Sixteen sample houses in these areas were randomly selected for this study. Field studies of indoor microclimatic conditions in the 16 sample houses related to indoor health conditions, and involved collecting dust mite and mould samples, and testing dust-mite allergens, testing mould and spores and identifying types of mould in 13 of the sample houses.
Respiratory Health Surveys were carried out with occupants in nine of the sample houses, and lung function tests of occupants in some sample houses were carried out during the winter of 2018. Four sample houses in Rotorua were randomly selected for this study as reference houses. Rotorua was chosen as the site for the reference houses, as it’s close to the study area and has similar climate conditions. The sample houses in Rotorua have basic insulation, in contrast to the houses in the Minginui, Te Whaiti and Murupara areas, which have either inadequate or no insulation.