Hygienic assessment of sanitary and epidemiological well-being in modern urban educational institutions

Abstract

Introduction. The restructuring of general education has led to the problem of overcrowding of schools, which in turn has caused the formation of a number of hygiene problems. Despite the active material and technical equipment of urban schools, the relevance of maintaining safe teaching conditions remains in general education. 
 Materials and methods. The assessment of sanitary and epidemiological well-being in ten urban educational institutions was carried out according to the methodology of the Federal State Educational Institution ROSHUMZ-34-2016 “Algorithm for determining the level of sanitary and epidemiological 
 well-being of an educational institution”. The intensification of the educational process was assessed according to the Federal Law ROSHUMZ-16-2015 “Hygienic assessment of the intensity of students’ learning activities”. 
 Results. The leading factors that worsen the sanitary and epidemiological state of urban educational institutions were non-compliant with the hygienic requirements of the school environment and its premises, material and technical equipment, microclimate, lighting and the mode of management of training. The duration of extracurricular activities exceeded the standards by 1.8 times. In urban schools, the intensity of the educational process (class 3.1) was formed due to intellectual, sensory loads, monotony and the mode of academic work (class 3.1). It is necessary to regulate the volume of the academic load and introduce methods that allow quantifying the intensification of the educational process by analyzing the intensity of educational work. 
 Limitations. The study on the assessment of the sanitary and epidemiological well-being in urban educational institutions was limited by the fact that the sample was represented by 10 urban schools, which does not allow them to be fully extrapolated to the total population of urban students. At the same time, the new type of schools included in the research with a design capacity of 1300 people could improve the indicators of sanitary and epidemiological safety, since modern newly built schools had good and new equipment, whereas in cities there are schools of the old type, where the learning conditions, the material and technical fund can be much worse. 
 Conclusion. The data obtained emphasize the urgency of the need for continuous monitoring of educating conditions and the management of the educational process, taking into account modern risks that contribute to reducing the sanitary and epidemiological well-being in urban schools.