Dataset Information

Associations Between School Characteristics and Classroom Radon Concentrations in Utah's Public Schools: A Project Completed by University Environmental Health Students.

ABSTRACT: Radon (²²²Rn), a radioactive gas, is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the U.S. Classroom radon concentrations in public schools in our target area had never been measured or had not been measured in many years. We had university students, primarily enrolled in environmental health courses, measure radon concentrations in 2289 classrooms in 66 of Utah's public schools and identify school characteristics associated with classroom radon concentrations. The geometric mean (GM) classroom radon concentration was 31.39 (95% confidence interval (CI): 27.16, 36.28) Bq/m3 (GM: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.98 pCi/L). Thirty-seven (2%) classrooms in 13 (20%) schools had radon concentrations at or above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recommended action level of 148 Bq/m3 (4.0 pCi/L). Number of classrooms had a u-shaped association with classroom radon concentrations. The year the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system was installed was inversely associated with having classroom radon concentrations at or above the EPA's recommended action level. Number of classrooms and number of students had u-shaped associations with having classroom radon concentrations at or above the EPA's recommended action level. Classroom radon concentrations decreased when schools' HVAC systems were on. Replacing HVAC systems and turning/keeping them on may be effective radon mitigation strategies to prevent radon-associated lung cancer, especially for small and large schools.

SUBMITTER: Davis EA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7460026 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Associations Between School Characteristics and Classroom Radon Concentrations in Utah's Public Schools: A Project Completed by University Environmental Health Students.

Davis Elizabeth A EA Ou Judy Y JY Chausow Cheyenne C Verdeja Marco A MA Divver Eleanor E Johnston James D JD Beard John D JD

International journal of environmental research and public health 20200812 16

Radon (²²²Rn), a radioactive gas, is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the U.S. Classroom radon concentrations in public schools in our target area had never been measured or had not been measured in many years. We had university students, primarily enrolled in environmental health courses, measure radon concentrations in 2289 classrooms in 66 of Utah's public schools and identify school characteristics associated with classroom radon concentrations. The geometric mean (GM) class ...[more]

PMID: 32806724

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Project description:BackgroundSchool injuries are an important adolescent health problem. Previous research suggests that relevant risk behaviors for school injuries, risk-taking and aggression, are highly susceptible to peer effects. Specifically, evidence suggests that the ratio of men and women in peer groups (sex ratio) affects individuals' propensity for aggression and risk-taking. However, potential associations of classroom sex ratios with adolescent school injury risks have not been studied so far. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association of classroom sex compositions with adolescent school injuries.MethodsWe investigate the association of classroom sex ratios with school injuries in a longitudinal survey dataset containing 13,131 observations from 9,204 adolescent students (ages 13-16) from secondary schools in Germany. The data also allow us to identify injuries due to aggressive behavior and analyze these injuries in detail. We use multilevel logistic regression models to analyze risks of both overall and aggression-related school injuries.ResultsAdolescent students' risk for school injuries is significantly and positively associated with male-skewed classroom sex ratios (OR = 1.012, p=0.012). Specifically, the risk of sustaining a school injury increases by 33.5 percent when moving from the 10th to the 90th classroom sex ratio percentile. Moreover, we find an even stronger positive association between male-dominated classrooms and aggression-related injury risks (OR = 1.022, p=0.010). Compared to classroom sex ratios at the 10th percentile, the risk of an aggression-related injury is 78 percent higher in classrooms with a sex ratio at the 90th percentile. Finally, we find that both boys' and girls' injury risks equally increase with a higher proportion of male students in their classroom.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that sex composition of classrooms is an important contextual factor for adolescent school injuries, in particular school injuries resulting from aggression. These findings illustrate the need to integrate a contextual perspective on school injuries among adolescent students both into research and into intervention planning.

Project description:BackgroundGlobally, the rate of unplanned pregnancies among students at institutions of higher education, continue to increase annually despite the universal awareness and availability of contraceptives to the general population. This study examined family planning among undergraduate university students focusing on their knowledge, use and attitudes towards contraception in the University of Education Winneba.MethodsThe study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey using a structured self-administered questionnaire. One hundred undergraduate students from the University of Education Winneba were selected using a multistage simple random sampling technique. A Likert scale was used to assess the attitude of the respondents towards family planning methods.ResultsFindings show that the respondents had a positive attitude towards family planning with an average mean score of about 4.0 using a contraceptive attitude Likert scale. Knowledge of contraception, awareness and benefits however do not commensurate contraceptive use among undergraduate students since availability, accessibility and preference influence usage. Emergency Contraception (Lydia) was reported as easy to get contraceptive, hence the most frequently used contraceptive (31%) among young female students aged 21-24 years who appeared as the most vulnerable in accessing and using contraceptives due to perceived social stigma.ConclusionThe observation that levels of Family Planning awareness levels do not commensurate knowledge and usage levels calls for more innovative strategies for contraceptive promotion, and Education on the various university campus. The study recommends that public Universities in Ghana should consider a possible curriculum restructuring to incorporate family planning updates. In this regard, a nationwide mixed method study targeting other tertiary institutions including colleges of education in Ghana is required to explore the topic further to inform policy and programme decisions.

Dataset Information

Associations Between School Characteristics and Classroom Radon Concentrations in Utah's Public Schools: A Project Completed by University Environmental Health Students.

Publications

Associations Between School Characteristics and Classroom Radon Concentrations in Utah's Public Schools: A Project Completed by University Environmental Health Students.

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