Cent Eur J Public Health 2012, 20(3):199-207 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3719

Assessment of the Indoor Environment and Implications for Health in Roma Villages in Slovakia and Romania

Marek Majdan¹, Alexandru Coman², Eva Gallová¹, Janka Ďuricová¹, Daniela Kállayová¹, Mária Kvaková¹, Ľuboš Bošák¹

¹ Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Care and Social Work, Trnava University, Trnava, Slovakia

² Centre for Health Policy and Public Health, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Objectives: The objective of this paper is to provide information on indoor air quality and on the quality of the broader indoor environment of the houses in Roma villages in Slovakia and Romania and to discuss possible implications for health.

Methods: Indoor air was sampled in 11 houses in a Romanian Roma village and in 19 houses in a Slovakian Roma village. Levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO²), total particulate matter (PM), temperature and humidity were measured. A questionnaire and a checklist were used to obtain additional information on the indoor environment and behavioural factors. We have sampled the same houses in winter and in summer.

Results: Levels of CO and CO² were higher in winter in both countries as compared to summer. The limit value of 10 mg/m³ CO was exceeded in a few cases in both countries. In general, levels of CO, CO² and PM were higher in Romania. Further environmental and behavioural hazards such as indoor smoking, pets inside or lack of ventilation were found. The reported self-perceived quality of the indoor environment was poor in many aspects.

Conclusions: Our findings of CO, CO² and PM levels suggest that indoor air pollution in Roma settlements has the potential to be a health threat. The fact that the inhabitants spend a relatively long time inside the houses and that a number of additional environmental and behavioural hazards were identified by our study emphasizes the importance of the indoor air quality for health and thus priority attention should be paid to these issues by health authorities and researchers. Further research is essential and study designs must consider cultural background and specific characteristics of the community, especially in order to obtain valid data on health outcomes.

Keywords: indoor air quality, housing, Roma population, health, biomass fuel

Received: August 31, 2011; Revised: May 14, 2012; Accepted: May 14, 2012; Published: September 1, 2012  Show citation