The Influence of Thermal Comfort on the Quality of Life of Nursing Home Residents

Abstract

Thermal comfort (TC) parameters were measured in 130 rooms from nursing homes (NH), following ISO 7730:2005 in order to evaluate the influence of winter season TC indices on quality of life (QoL) in older individuals. Mean radiant temperature (mrT), predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percent of dissatisfied people (PPD) indices, and the respective measurement uncertainties were calculated using Monte Carlo Method. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was conducted from September 2012 to April 2013, during the winter season TC sampling campaign. Winter PMV and PPD indices showed significant differences between seasons in median values for comfort. There were also significant differences between seasons for air temperature, air velocity, mrT, and relative humidity. The winter PMV index displayed a "slightly cool" [≤-1] to "cool" [≤-2] in thermal sensation scale [-3 to 3]. PPD index reflected this discomfort as evidenced by a high rate of predicted dissatisfied occupants (64%). The influence of winter season TC on older individual QoL results demonstrated that values of PMV above -0.7 had higher mean score of QoL (coefficient estimate: 11.13 units) compared with values of PMV below -0.7. These findings are of relevance to public health and may be useful for understanding NH indoor environment variables thus implementing preventive policies in terms of standards and guidelines for these susceptible populations.

The Living Environment and Thermal Behaviours of Older South Australians: A Multi-Focus Group Study

“…It needs to be stressed that the studied population were living independently, rather than in an institutional setting such as a nursing home or and assisted-living facility. There are many studies available on the optimal design of the thermal environment of nursing homes and retirement villages, from both Australia [66,67] and from Europe [68]. In general, the populations of these facilities are in poorer health and often deal with the consequences of dementia [69,70], and, therefore, have fewer adaptive behavioural strategies at their disposal.…”

The Consumption of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) by the European Union Households between 2004 and 2019

“…Maintaining adequate thermal comfort affects the consumer life quality [37,38]. On the other hand, improving this kind of comfort is associated with an increase in the consumption of fossil energy carriers, which in turn is associated with an increase in environmental pollution [39,40]. Thus, in order to reconcile social and environmental objectives, it is important to widely involve households in initiatives for the use of energy from renewable energy sources.…”

Impact of sensory interventions on the quality of life of long-term care residents: a scoping review

“…Although previous studies have looked at sensory decline and decreased quality of life, [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] and at interventions related to the senses, [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] this is the first review specifically looking at sensory interventions for older adults with a general decline of the senses living in long-term care.…”

“…Many studies have investigated methods of modifying the physical environment to create a more enriching sensory environment for older adults living in long-term care settings. Such interventions have included: adequate lighting, 14 appropriate environmental temperatures, 15 removal of unpleasant noises, 16 presence of pleasant sounds (music) 17 and installation of multisensory environments including sensory gardens or Snoezelen rooms. 18 Other studies have focused on sensory interventions such as: physical contact, [19][20][21][22] animal therapy, 23 aromatherapy and essential oils, 24 25 and nutrition.…”