[Attitudes of school principals towards classroom ventilation in the Region of Murcia (Spain) after COVID-19].

OBJECTIVE

COVID-19 remains a highly communicable disease in poorly ventilated closed environments. In Spain, prevention guidelines on transmission in schools were developed, emphasizing the need for adequate ventilation. In the Region of Murcia, the last update of these guidelines was carried out in 2022. The objective of this research was to evaluate the attitudes and behaviors of the principals of public schools in this region towards preventive ventilation measures in classrooms after the end of the COVID-19 health emergency. The level of compliance with these measures during the 2023/24 academic year and the intentions to comply for the 2024/25 academic year were analyzed, as well as the factors that hinder and those that would help adequate ventilation.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 14 and November 15, 2024. Through email, and using the Microsoft Forms platform, the 518 directors of public schools in the Region of Murcia were contacted, finally obtaining 91 responses, which were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively.

RESULTS

77% of schools lack HVAC systems or portable air purification devices and CO2 sensors. Regarding compliance with the recommendations, on a scale [0,1], an average of 0.71 was obtained for the 2023/24 academic year and 0.76 for 2024/25. Thermal comfort, external noise and scarce teacher collaboration were identified as the main limiting factors, while the need for more economic and material resources was identified as the essential element for improvement.

CONCLUSIONS

The principals of public schools in the Region of Murcia continue to show a favorable attitude and behavior towards classroom ventilation after the COVID-19 health emergency. However, there are severe obstacles to achieving better indoor air quality conditions in classrooms: most facilities lack HVAC systems or purifiers and CO2 meters, which makes it a constant challenge to maintain natural ventilation in the face of noise, lack of thermal comfort, and lack of awareness on the part of teachers, among other factors. Public investment in improving infrastructure is essential to make schools a much safer place against aerosol transmission of diseases.