Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in shelter settings: What it means and why it matters

This webinar is jointly presented with the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID).

Abstract

The word “shelter” evokes a safe indoor environment. However, good indoor environmental quality (IEQ) requires careful building management to achieve and maintain. Parameters such as temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can independently affect the health of shelter residents and staff and can be associated with increased risk of biotoxins and pathogenic agents. This talk will provide a holistic overview of IEQ and suggest strategies for managing risks in shelters and other congregate living environments. 

Learning objectives

Participants will learn how to:

• Identify indoor environmental quality (IEQ) considerations for congregate settings
• Explore impacts of aspects of IEQ on the health of people in shelters
• Understand the connection between IEQ and the spread of infectious diseases  

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

Speaker

Sarah Henderson, PhD is trained as an environmental engineer and environmental epidemiologist. She is the Scientific Director of Environmental Health Services at the BC Centre for Disease Control and the Scientific Director of the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health (NCCEH). She is also a professor at the UBC School of Population and Public Health.

Dr Henderson oversees a broad program of applied research, surveillance, knowledge translation, and training to support evidence-based environmental health policy and practice in BC and across Canada. She co-chaired the BC Safer Operations Working Group (SOWG) during the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has significant expertise in indoor environmental quality as it relates to climate change and infectious disease.