This interdisciplinary guide offers background, research findings, and practical strategies for assessing and improving air quality in hospitals and other healthcare settings. Positing good air quality as critical to patient and staff well-being, it identifies disease-carrying microbes, pollutants, and other airborne toxins and their health risks, and provides localized interventions for reducing transmission of pathogens. Effective large-scale approaches to air quality control are also outlined, from green building materials to hygienic HVAC and air treatment practices. Its thoroughness of coverage makes this book a vital resource for professionals involved in every aspect of health service facilities, from planning and construction to maintenance and management. Among the topics covered: Existing guidelines in indoor air quality: the case study of hospital environments Hospital environments and epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections Analysis of microorganisms in hospital environments and potential risks Legionella indoor air contamination in healthcare environments HVAC system design in healthcare facilities and control of aerosol contaminants Assessment of indoor air quality in inpatient wards Indoor Air Quality in Healthcare Facilities imparts up-to-date expertise to a variety of professional readers, including hospitals' technical and management departments, healthcare facilities' chief medical officers, hospital planners, sport and thermal building designers, public health departments, and students of universities and schools of hygiene.

This multidisciplinary book brings together medical, management, and architectural disciplines in order to formulate new approaches to the programming, planning, and design of healthcare facilities that will improve the quality of healthcare systems in rapidly developing countries, respecting local culture. It achieves this aim by drawing upon case studies on healthcare facilities and services that were undertaken in Kolkata, India, where the public healthcare system is meager and most people do not have access to health services. The approaches presented pay appropriate attention to technical aspects and organizational set-up and are designed to achieve an adequate healthcare assistance, greater production efficiency, better use of local professional resources, and careful control of construction. They are also intended to promote educational progress and future independence in construction and management of the healthcare system. The book will appeal to all with an interest in design and organizational strategies to meet new healthcare challenges in India and other emerging countries.