Relationship between indoor environmental quality levels in senior housing and perception of indoor environmental quality

Abstract

Due to the expansion of senior housing in response to the advent of a super-aged society, the physical environment’s effort on elderly individuals, who spend extended periods indoors, is expected to be significant. Empirical evidence requires evaluating the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of senior housing and investigate the relationship among the physical characteristics, resident satisfaction, and health outcomes. Focusing on a representative Senior-welfare-housing project in South Korea, on-site evaluations and interviews are conducted on 50 units and their residents. Using an evaluation tool, the level of physical characteristics is evaluated to be 1.15 out of 2 points. Resident satisfaction with IEQ is rated favorably (4.02 out of 5 points), whereas the perceived effect of IEQ on health is lower (3.54 points). Correlation-analysis results revealed that higher air quality is associated with greater satisfaction, whereas lower satisfaction with acoustic and safety quality corresponds to a heightened perception of their effect on health. This study is significant for empirically verifying the relationships among the physical characteristics that determine IEQ, residents’ satisfaction with IEQ, and the impact of IEQ on health. Its findings can be guide physical improvements in senior housing from the perspective of IEQ.