永續計畫資料庫

In recent years, Taiwan's air quality index has shown annual improvement, but air pollution issues persist in the southern and central regions due to the concentration of petrochemical industries. The combined effects of multiple air pollutants, rising temperatures, and increased humidity pose significant health threats to the general population, especially the elderly. As Taiwan gradually becomes an aging society, deteriorating environmental quality also presents challenges to healthcare and social welfare. However, there is a lack of investigation regarding air quality in built environments for elderly care facilities.

This project aims to investigate the overall environmental health patterns for community long term care centers and effectiveness of intervention measures on environmental quality for community centers in southern Taiwan. This project will consider multiple environmental exposures (e.g., temperature, pollutants, humidity, bio-aerosols) and the synergistic effects of pollutants. The intervention measures evaluated will include protective window screens (PWS), air purifiers (AP), and the green view index (GVI) used in previous project. The health outcomes and social indicators included in the investigation encompass health checks (blood Samples for inflammation factors, cytokine, and cell free DNA, physical examination, wearable devices for health monitoring, lung function, symptom questionnaire, urine for measuring the heavy metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and subjective assessments (questionnaires, overall well-being surveys). We will comprehensively consider the impact of the environmental quality index (EQI) on health and well-being. Additionally, following International Organization for Standardization, the project will investigate and analyze the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints for caring services in the study areas, this baseline information would be benefit for the planning of future net-zero policies and action plans for healthcare. Through integrating environmental and health risk assessments (multiple exposure responses) in elderly care centers, this project aims to propose directions for optimizing environment and health. The three subprojects include: S1: Provide health risk assessments of synergistic and individual effects of air pollutants in southern Taiwan, and evaluate the synergistic effects of heat-humidity and air pollutants in community long term care centers, as well as the health risk analysis of EQI and overall well-being parameters. S2: Improve air quality to reduce respiratory tract infections caused by air pollution. S3: Provide comprehensive, evidence-based, and quantitative estimates of the health impacts of environmental pollution and temperature on the elderly, and develop effective prevention strategies in Taiwan. This innovative project promises to significantly improve public health and environmental quality for the elderly population in southern Taiwan. By informing targeted interventions and policy recommendations, it aims to create healthier living environments for Taiwan's elderly population. The comprehensive approach will promote healthier living conditions in community long term care centers, contributing to public health and the country's environmental goals.

臺灣缺乏高齡照護單位之建成環境空氣品質現況調查與建議值。本計畫以臺灣中南部老年日間照護中心和社區中心為研究場域，調查照護場域之建成環境樣態，並評估空污介入措施(防霧霾紗窗、空氣清淨機及建成環境綠覆指數)對空品及健康之影響。納入的健康與社會指標調查包含基礎健康檢查、血液樣本(發炎因子、細胞激素等檢測)、穿戴式健康監測、肺功能測試，症狀問卷、尿液樣本，和整體福祉調查等，我們將綜合評估環境品質指數對健康及福祉感受度的影響。此外，將依循 ISO 標準方法，分析建立老人照護場域之溫室氣體排放量及碳足跡，以利未來醫療淨零政策與行動方案之規劃。本計畫整合評估老年照護中心環境和健康風險，提出優化環境和健康之建議方向。