Environmental Health Assessment in University Dormitories

Abstract

At present, the students have most favored to live in dormitories which organized by either privates or institutions operation. The good quality of dormitories will enhance not only the quality of life, but also the academic performance achievement. This study aimed to develop environmental health criteria checklist and to assess the environmental health conditions in university dormitories in the Northeastern Thailand. This descriptive study was developed the environmental health criteria checklist which consisted of 10 categories including: 1) room condition 2) ventilation, 3) garbage and waste management 4) sewage system 5) rodent and pest control 6) water quality 7) dormitory safety 8) fire protection 9) cleansing and use of chemicals and 10) surrounding environment of dormitory. The criteria contained of 55 items. Besides, the environmental conditions of canteens, toilets and minimarts were also evaluated by using the criteria checklist of Department of Health. A total of 16 dormitories were studied which divided into 7 males dormitories and 9 females dormitories. The results showed that both males and females dormitories had met the evaluation criteria at a very good level by an average of 91 and 88 percent, respectively. For the physical environmental conditions of toilets, canteens and minimarts close to the dormitories found that they were not qualified. This criteria item might not fit into the dormitories environmental context. The development of environmental health assessment criteria in this study should be applied for institution for assessing the environmental health conditions for the better quality of life of residents.