The HITEA School study will be performed in three European countries, representing three different climatic regions: Spain (participating center CREAL), the Netherlands (participating center UU), and Finland (participating center KTL). The overall aim of the study is to identify the role of indoor biological agents leading to short term respiratory and inflammatory health effects in pupils and teachers exposed to poor indoor air quality in schools across Europe. Such short term effects may potentially lead to chronic, long term respiratory, inflammatory and allergic health impacts among children.
The focus on the exposure side is on microbial exposures due to dampness problems of buildings (link WP3); in addition, the role of chemicals and poor ventilation will be studied. The measured health outcomes will emphasise on respiratory health and on inflammatory, cytotoxicity and oxidative stress related mechanisms (link WP4).

The School study is structured in two parts. In the first part, a cross-sectional study, where a survey on prevalence of moisture damage and dampness in schools in three climatic regions will be conducted (phases I-II in the figure). The second part includes a longitudinal study on exposure and associated health effects in school children and teachers in selected schools (phases III-V in the figure).

The HITEA school study will significantly enhance our knowledge on indoor exposures to dampness, moisture and microbial agents in schools and their associated health effects. The significance of the school indoor environment to the students’ and teachers’ health can be better evaluated, leading to adequate risk assessment in the future. This will facilitate the policy development for the indoor air quality and maintenance of school buildings.