IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i22p15042-d972051.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analyzing the Perception of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) from a Survey of New Townhouse Residents in Dubai

Author

Listed:
  • Mohammad Arar

    (Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Art and Design, Healthy & Sustainable Built Environment Research Center, Ajman University, Ajman P.O. Box 346, United Arab Emirates)

  • Chuloh Jung

    (Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, Art and Design, Healthy & Sustainable Built Environment Research Center, Ajman University, Ajman P.O. Box 346, United Arab Emirates)

Abstract

According to UAE Health Ministry and Dubai Healthcare City reports, 15% of Dubai residents have a chronic respiratory disease such as asthma. Moreover, 90% of the 150,000 patients at Al Ain Hospital suffered from upper respiratory tract respiratory diseases, bronchitis, or asthma. Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) has emerged as a social problem in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Dubai Municipality regulates Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) with strict stipulations before moving in, but they are relatively passive about regulations related to healthy living. This paper aims to explore the actual state of perception of the IAQ from townhouse residents in Dubai, UAE. The characteristics of the resident’s perceptions of the IAQ are identified, and the influential factors affecting residents’ perceptions of IAQ are extracted. As a methodology, the survey was conducted on four townhouse projects in Dubai from December 2021 to January 2022. A total of 114 copies were distributed, and 98 documents were used. Analysis of the survey data was processed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0. The results showed a statistically significant correlation between the cognitive and anxiety levels of SBS with the presence or absence of experience. It was statistically confirmed that the most influential factors were the age of the children and the occupancy time of housewives and children. This is because of the perception that wives who spend a relatively long time in the house and their young children are exposed to indoor air pollution for a long period of time and are easily affected by this influence on the concerns about young children about SBS. Ninety-five percent of the respondents answered that they knew more than average about SBS, indicating a very high level of awareness. As for the degree of anxiety, 87.0% of the respondents felt higher levels of anxiety than usual. However, most of them did not know or were indifferent to the understanding of the air quality improvement methods. The awareness of actual contents was lower than that of residents who assessed that they knew about SBS.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammad Arar & Chuloh Jung, 2022. "Analyzing the Perception of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) from a Survey of New Townhouse Residents in Dubai," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:22:p:15042-:d:972051
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/15042/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/15042/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shiwen Zhao & Liwen Chen, 2021. "Exploring Residents’ Purchase Intention of Green Housings in China: An Extended Perspective of Perceived Value," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Abdullah Alsharef & Siddharth Banerjee & S M Jamil Uddin & Alex Albert & Edward Jaselskis, 2021. "Early Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the United States Construction Industry," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-20, February.
    3. Umberto Berardi, 2012. "Sustainability Assessment in the Construction Sector: Rating Systems and Rated Buildings," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(6), pages 411-424, November.
    4. Baifeng Sun & Leon Yongdan Liu & Wilco Waihung Chan & Carol Xiaoyue Zhang & Xingqi Chen, 2021. "Signals of Hotel Effort on Enhancing IAQ and Booking Intention: Effect of Customer’s Body Mass Index Associated with Sustainable Marketing in Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, January.
    5. Dayoung Jung & Youngtae Choe & Jihun Shin & Eunche Kim & Gihong Min & Dongjun Kim & Mansu Cho & Chaekwan Lee & Kilyong Choi & Byung Lyul Woo & Wonho Yang, 2022. "Risk Assessment of Indoor Air Quality and Its Association with Subjective Symptoms among Office Workers in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-12, February.
    6. Chuloh Jung & Nahla Al Qassimi, 2022. "Investigating the Emission of Hazardous Chemical Substances from Mashrabiya Used for Indoor Air Quality in Hot Desert Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-16, February.
    7. Hong, Tianzhen & Piette, Mary Ann & Chen, Yixing & Lee, Sang Hoon & Taylor-Lange, Sarah C. & Zhang, Rongpeng & Sun, Kaiyu & Price, Phillip, 2015. "Commercial Building Energy Saver: An energy retrofit analysis toolkit," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 298-309.
    8. Vinh Van Tran & Duckshin Park & Young-Chul Lee, 2020. "Indoor Air Pollution, Related Human Diseases, and Recent Trends in the Control and Improvement of Indoor Air Quality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-27, April.
    9. Peng Guo & Kazuhito Yokoyama & Fengyuan Piao & Kiyoshi Sakai & Md Khalequzzaman & Michihiro Kamijima & Tamie Nakajima & Fumihiko Kitamura, 2013. "Sick Building Syndrome by Indoor Air Pollution in Dalian, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    10. Mohammad Arar & Chuloh Jung, 2021. "Improving the Indoor Air Quality in Nursery Buildings in United Arab Emirates," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-19, November.
    11. Mehzabeen Mannan & Sami G. Al-Ghamdi, 2021. "Indoor Air Quality in Buildings: A Comprehensive Review on the Factors Influencing Air Pollution in Residential and Commercial Structure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-25, March.
    12. Alejandro Moreno-Rangel & Tim Sharpe & Gráinne McGill & Filbert Musau, 2020. "Indoor Air Quality in Passivhaus Dwellings: A Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-16, July.
    13. Norimichi Suzuki & Hiroko Nakaoka & Masamichi Hanazato & Yoshitake Nakayama & Kayo Tsumura & Kazunari Takaya & Emiko Todaka & Chisato Mori, 2019. "Indoor Air Quality Analysis of Newly Built Houses," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-11, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dorina Camelia Ilies & Grigore Vasile Herman & Bahodirhon Safarov & Alexandru Ilies & Lucian Blaga & Tudor Caciora & Ana Cornelia Peres & Vasile Grama & Sigit Widodo Bambang & Telesphore Brou & Franco, 2023. "Indoor Air Quality Perception in Built Cultural Heritage in Times of Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fupeng Zhang & Lei Shi & Simian Liu & Jiaqi Shi & Mengfei Cheng, 2022. "Indoor Air Quality in Tujia Dwellings in Hunan, China: Field Tests, Numerical Simulations, and Mitigation Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-27, July.
    2. Mohammad Arar & Chuloh Jung, 2021. "Improving the Indoor Air Quality in Nursery Buildings in United Arab Emirates," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Aner Martinez-Soto & Carlos Jimenez-Gallardo & Andrés Villarroel-Lopez & Alejandro Reyes-Riveros & Johanna Höhl, 2024. "Toward Sustainable Indoor Environments: Assessing the Impact of Thermal Insulation Measures on Air Quality in Buildings—A Case Study in Temuco, Chile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-17, January.
    4. Mei Wu & Guangwei Zhang & Liping Wang & Xiaoping Liu & Zhengwei Wu, 2022. "Influencing Factors on Airflow and Pollutant Dispersion around Buildings under the Combined Effect of Wind and Buoyancy—A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-19, October.
    5. Hélène Niculita-Hirzel, 2022. "Latest Trends in Pollutant Accumulations at Threatening Levels in Energy-Efficient Residential Buildings with and without Mechanical Ventilation: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-12, March.
    6. Seonghyun Park & Janghoo Seo & Sunwoo Lee, 2020. "Distribution Characteristics of Indoor PM 2.5 Concentration Based on the Water Type and Humidification Method," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-15, November.
    7. Qingyuan Luo & Peng Zhang & Yijia Liu & Xiujie Ma & George Jennings, 2022. "Intervention of Physical Activity for University Students with Anxiety and Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention and Control Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-20, November.
    8. Mohammad S. M. Almulhim & Dexter V. L. Hunt & Chris D. F. Rogers, 2020. "A Resilience and Environmentally Sustainable Assessment Framework (RESAF) for Domestic Building Materials in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-24, April.
    9. Rashidi, Hamidreza & GhaffarianHoseini, Ali & GhaffarianHoseini, Amirhosein & Nik Sulaiman, Nik Meriam & Tookey, John & Hashim, Nur Awanis, 2015. "Application of wastewater treatment in sustainable design of green built environments: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 845-856.
    10. Soad Abokhamis Mousavi & Ercan Hoşkara & Kyle M. Woosnam, 2017. "Developing a Model for Sustainable Hotels in Northern Cyprus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-23, November.
    11. Muhammad Talha Siddique & Paraskevas Koukaras & Dimosthenis Ioannidis & Christos Tjortjis, 2023. "A Methodology Integrating the Quantitative Assessment of Energy Efficient Operation and Occupant Needs into the Smart Readiness Indicator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-15, October.
    12. Thrampoulidis, Emmanouil & Mavromatidis, Georgios & Lucchi, Aurelien & Orehounig, Kristina, 2021. "A machine learning-based surrogate model to approximate optimal building retrofit solutions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    13. Umberto Berardi, 2013. "Sustainability assessment of urban communities through rating systems," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1573-1591, December.
    14. Ling Zhang & Changjin Ou & Dhammika Magana-Arachchi & Meththika Vithanage & Kanth Swaroop Vanka & Thava Palanisami & Kanaji Masakorala & Hasintha Wijesekara & Yubo Yan & Nanthi Bolan & M. B. Kirkham, 2021. "Indoor Particulate Matter in Urban Households: Sources, Pathways, Characteristics, Health Effects, and Exposure Mitigation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-33, October.
    15. Francesco Lolli & Antonio Maria Coruzzolo & Samuele Marinello & Asia Traini & Rita Gamberini, 2022. "A Bibliographic Analysis of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in Industrial Environments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-26, August.
    16. Berardi, Umberto & GhaffarianHoseini, AmirHosein & GhaffarianHoseini, Ali, 2014. "State-of-the-art analysis of the environmental benefits of green roofs," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 411-428.
    17. Xiao Chen & Yongquan Wen & Nanyang Li, 2016. "Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Evaluation of Space and Water Heating in Urban Residential Buildings of the Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-14, September.
    18. Gourlis, Georgios & Kovacic, Iva, 2016. "A study on building performance analysis for energy retrofit of existing industrial facilities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1389-1399.
    19. Kangji Li & Lei Pan & Wenping Xue & Hui Jiang & Hanping Mao, 2017. "Multi-Objective Optimization for Energy Performance Improvement of Residential Buildings: A Comparative Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-23, February.
    20. An Cheng & Tonghui Chen & Guogang Jiang & Xinru Han, 2021. "Can Major Public Health Emergencies Affect Changes in International Oil Prices?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-13, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:22:p:15042-:d:972051. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.