Public health and economic impact of dampness and mold

The public health risk and economic impact of dampness and mold exposures was assessed using current asthma as a health endpoint. Individual risk of current asthma from exposure to dampness and mold in homes from W.J. Fisk, Q. Lei-Gomez & M.J. Mendell [(2007) Indoor Air, [corrected] 17, 284-296], and [corrected] asthma risks calculated from additional studies that reported the prevalence of dampness and mold in homes were used to estimate the proportion of US current asthma cases that are attributable to dampness and mold exposure at 21% (95% confidence internal 12-29%). An examination of the literature covering dampness and mold in schools, offices, and institutional buildings, which is summarized in the Appendix, suggests that risks from exposure in these buildings are similar to risks from exposures in homes. Of the 21.8 million people reported to have asthma in the USA, approximately 4.6 (2.7-6.3) million cases are estimated to be attributable to dampness and mold exposure in the home. Estimates of the national cost of asthma from two prior studies were updated to 2004 and used to estimate the economic impact of dampness and mold exposures. By applying the attributable fraction to the updated national annual cost of asthma, the national annual cost of asthma that is attributable to dampness and mold exposure in the home is estimated to be $3.5 billion ($2.1-4.8 billion). Analysis indicates that exposure to dampness and mold in buildings poses significant public health and economic risks in the USA. These findings are compatible with public policies and programs that help control moisture and mold in buildings. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: There is a need to control moisture in both new and existing construction because of the significant health consequences that can result from dampness and mold. This paper demonstrates that dampness and mold in buildings is a significant public health problem with substantial economic impact.     

Does dampness and mold in schools affect health? Results of a meta‐analysis

This paper provides meta‐analyses of the published findings relating the respiratory health of occupants of schools with visible dampness, water damage, visible mold, and/or mold odor. Random effects models were used to develop central estimates and confidence limits for the associations of respiratory health effects with school dampness and mold. Eleven studies, all with cross‐sectional designs, were included in the meta‐analyses; however, analyses for some health outcomes were based on as few as four studies. Analyses were performed using data from adults and children combined, using only data from children, and using data from adults and children after excluding two studies. The central estimates of odds ratios from the meta‐analyses were consistently above unity. The evidence of adverse health effects was strongest for cough and wheeze, which had confidence limits excluding unity in some or all analyses. The odds ratios of 1.32 for cough and 1.68 for wheeze suggest moderate increases in health risk. Studies not included in the meta‐analyses provide additional evidence that dampness and mold in schools are associated with adverse health outcomes. These meta‐analyses and the published literature not included in the meta‐analyses suggest that dampness and mold in schools are associated with adverse respiratory health effects.     

Children in Housing Disadvantage in Australia: Development of a Summary Small Area Index

The importance of suitable, affordable housing in promoting the well-being of children is widely acknowledged. However, despite growing interest in geographic differences in child well-being, little is known about the spatial distribution of characteristics associated with housing disadvantage for Australian children. This paper seeks to develop knowledge in this area by creating a headline indicator of child housing disadvantage. It uses spatially disaggregated Census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing 2006 capturing overcrowding, public housing tenure and dwelling type, and creates synthetic estimates of housing stress using spatial microsimulation techniques. These variables are then combined into a single index of housing disadvantage. Next, the spatial microsimulation techniques and index creation methodology are described, and the results of the validation process, including sensitivity analysis of alternative index creation approaches, are presented.     

铝模集成化施工技术在装配式建筑中的应用研究

近年来,随着建筑行业的迅速发展,施工工艺的不断革新,其中装配式建筑与铝合金模板技术的结合显著地提升了施工的质量和效率。文章以山东省聊城市某装配式建筑铝模集成化施工项目为例,从前期深化设计、节点部位加强及工艺优化等方面对施工要点进行了研究。研究结果显示,在装配式建筑中应用铝模集成化施工技术,不仅能够显著提升施工效率,还能够确保施工质量。     

Means and Ends. Why Child Support Money is not Used to Meet Housing Costs

In Australia, as in other jurisdictions, recent legislation and policy addressing child support was introduced as a response to child poverty in single-parent families. However, there has been very little research conducted on the question of how child support money is used by sole parents. This paper extends current knowledge by exploring how— and indeed, if—child support money is a useful resource in meeting the housing needs of the children of separated parents. The study reports on the findings arising out of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 33 parents who received child support money. The impact of child support is often limited by three factors: the amounts paid, the circumstances of its payment (and in particular, unreliable payments), and the values guiding its allocation. The paper argues that ultimately, the benefits of child support are constrained because it is a privatised response to gendered, structural inequalities in housing, care and income following separation and divorce.     

The Duration of Bad Housing and Children's Well-being in Britain

Improving children's living standards is a top priority for government policy makers. Whilst the presence of a link between bad housing and child outcomes has been acknowledged in a number of studies, there is little evidence on how long children live in bad housing for and whether the duration of living in bad housing is associated with other poor outcomes for children. This research uses five waves of data from the Families and Children Study, a representative longitudinal study of families with children in Britain, to show that the longer children live in bad housing the more vulnerable they are to a range of other poor outcomes included in the Government's Every Child Matters framework. The research implies that policy makers need to focus on reducing the substantial number of children who live in bad housing for long periods and that interventions in housing provision for families are likely to lead to improvements in many other aspects of children's lives.     

Social representations of children in higher density housing: enviable,inevitable or evil?

Abstract

An increased focus on housing diversity in planning policy, international flows of capital and changing lifestyle preferences are resulting in increased higher density housing often marketed towards professional singles, couples without children and ‘empty nesters.’ Despite this, families with children currently dwell in higher density housing, either by choice or by necessity. This research identifies the social representations surrounding children in higher density housing in Australia’s third largest city, Brisbane. It does this by analysing newspaper media published between 2007 and 2014 and through 46 interviews with residents and built-form professionals from Brisbane. The research finds four key representations; that children belong in the suburbs; increasing support for wealthy families in higher density housing; an economic argument for the lack of family-appropriate apartments; and an increasing acceptance of medium-density housing for younger households. This research draws attention to the winners and losers in housing debates and the ‘common-sense’ assumptions that impact housing outcomes.     

广东省佛山市3-7岁支气管哮喘患儿气质的研究

目的探讨广东省佛山市3~7岁支气管哮喘患儿与其气质的关系。方法对66例支气管哮喘患儿（哮喘组）和113例健康儿童（正常对照组）采用Carry 3~7岁儿童气质问卷（behavioral style questionnaire,BSQ）进行气质维度评分,并根据各气质维度的得分情况对2组进行气质类型测评。结果哮喘组在气质维度中的趋避性、适应性、反应强度、情绪本质、坚持性、注意分散度评分值与正常对照组比较差异均有统计学意义（均P〈0.05）;哮喘组患儿ID型、D型、S型所占比例较高,IE型和E型所占比例较低,与正常对照组比较差异均有统计学意义（均P〈0.05）。结论支气管哮喘患儿的气质类型分布和气质部分维度与正常儿童有明显差异,治疗儿童支气管哮喘时应考虑其个体气质特征,并给予适当的干预。     

论住房制度改革及住房保障的发展

通过系统的回顾我国住房制度改革的发展历史,以及对住房市场和住房保障两条发展路线的梳理,结合福利经济学的观点,提出住房保障是住房市场的必要补充,是对社会财富合理再分配的观点。提出了住房保障应当与住房市场相互协调,住房保障的规模要与经济发展水平、社会发展阶段相适应的相互发展关系。     

谈住宅精心设计

从住宅的总体性能出发,在保证舒适度、卫生度、安全度、健康度等的基础上,以人为核心,通过深入生活,熟悉不同居住对象的新的居住行为方式、内容,使得住宅设计有更强的适应性.