Environmental Health and Safety Status in the Primary Schools of Garmsar City, Iran

Nowadays, school administrators and designers are increasingly convinced that the quality of school buildings, spaces, and learning environments can influence students’ health and learning. It makes sense to them that, when classrooms are clean, healthy, and well-lit, students are more comfortable, less prone to illness, and more focused on their studies. The current study aimed at investigating the environmental health and safety status in primary schools of Garmsar city, Iran with the recommended standards.

The statistical population of the current descriptive, cross sectional study was selected by the census method. To accomplish this, a checklist related to the school environmental health inspection provided by the Ministry of Health, was completed through direct observation.

Most schools had favorable conditions in terms of the medical examinations (75%), appropriate drinking fountains (69%), standard toilets (87%), window height (90%), natural lighting (65%), safety in the installation of the heater (84%), electrical and lighting (72%), fire extinguisher (68%), sewage disposal (100%), and daily waste collection (72%). However, most of the schools had no health care rooms (66%), standard first aid kit (57%), emergency exit (69%), hygienic tuck-shops (59%), standard bench and desk (53%), favorable ventilation (54%), and the appropriate distance of the board (53%).

It was concluded that the physical status of the primary schools of Garmsar was approximately in accordance with the required standards of School Health Regulations. However, some school buildings needed repair, which should be considered in government programs. In order to guarantee the safety of schools, it is more important to evaluate the defects of the environmental health status of schools