University Students' Self-Rated Health in Relation to Perceived Acoustic Environment during the COVID-19 Home Quarantine

Exploring the relationship between home environmental characteristics and restorative effect through neural activities

As society and the economy have advanced, the focus of architectural and interior environment design has shifted from practicality to eliciting emotional responses, such as stimulating environments and innovative inclusive designs. Of particular interest is the home environment, as it is best suited for achieving restorative effects, leading to a debate between interior qualities and restorative impact. This study explored the relationships between home characteristics, restorative potential, and neural activities using the Neu-VR. The results of the regression analysis revealed statistically significant relationships between interior properties and restorative potential. We examined each potential characteristic of the home environment that could have a restorative impact and elucidated the environmental characteristics that should be emphasized in residential interior design. These findings contribute evidence-based knowledge for designing therapeutic indoor environments. And combining different restorative potential environments with neural activity, discussed new neuro activities which may predict restorativeness, decoded the new indicators of neuro activity for environmental design.

Indoor soundscape in primary school classroomsa)

Soundscape research on indoor environments is emerging as a topic to be addressed for the design of supportive, healthier, and more comfortable spaces. Only a few studies so far addressed the context of educational buildings, mainly focusing on high schools and universities. This pilot study uses questionnaires based on pictorial scales to investigate the indoor soundscape of classrooms for primary school children (n = 130; 8-10 years old). Perceived loudness and the affective dimensions of pleasantness and arousal were explored. Besides the actual soundscape, the children's ideal soundscape was investigated as well. The results of the study indicate that the most frequent sounds in classrooms are generated by the students themselves (voices, movements) followed by the traffic. The urban context of the school modulates the children's perception when windows are open to ensure natural ventilation. Pleasantness is associated with students' age, perceived loudness, and frequency of children's voices in nearby classrooms. The frequency of hearing indoor sounds (children's voices) and sirens affects students' arousal. Our results indicate that children at school are mostly exposed to unpleasant sounds, whereas their preferred ones are music and nature-related ones. The findings have implications for the design of positive and inclusive learning environments.

Effects of brief exposure to campus environment on students' physiological and psychological health

Experiences in natural environments can enhance human wellbeing and promote the recovery of physiological and psychological health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, university students' activity off-campus was limited, thus, the campus environment was particularly important for the recovery of students' physiological and psychological health. Although the benefits of sustained natural exposure are obvious for people's physiological and psychological health, the effects of brief exposure on physiological and psychological are unclear. In the present study, four types of campus environments, including square space, dense forest space, sparse forest space, and waterfront space, were selected to explore the transient recovery effects of different types of campus environments. Sixty university students were recruited, measuring their systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate as physical parameters to assess stress recovery. Respondents also reported scores about their personal feelings in questionnaires to evaluate their psychological states. Both physiological and psychological indicators responded to the brief natural exposure (5 min), and physiological and psychological health was restored. However, only the recovery amounts of psychological indicators were significantly different in waterfront space, dense forest space, and sparse forest space. These results indicate that being compare with other spaces, the brief exposure in the waterfront space was the most beneficial to students' psychological health recovery. This recovery was attributed to the great role played by the sense of escape, but after the brief exposure, the attraction and compatibility of the environment would hinder the psychological health recovery. In conclusion, according to tests on both physiological and psychological aspects, the waterfront environment on campus is the best choice for students' transient health recovery.

The actual and ideal indoor soundscape for work, relaxation, physical and sexual activity at home: A case study during the COVID-19 lockdown in London

The period of home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic made the importance of a high-quality surrounding environment even more evident than before. Several studies have been carried out to assess the (negative) impacts of noise on annoyance, particularly whilst working from home (WFH). The present study takes a step further by (1) investigating the positive and negative impacts of the "actual" acoustic environment on a range of activities, i.e., WFH, relaxation, physical, and sexual activities, and (2) identifying the characteristics of an "ideal" indoor soundscape. The study is based on the qualitative analysis of verbal descriptions collected from open-ended questions included in a survey administered in January 2021 to 464 respondents living in London, during the COVID-19 lockdown. The range of impacts in the actual scenario varied from no effect on task execution, to disruption, distraction, concern of disturbing others or being heard. Positive impacts included support of concentration, relaxation, motivation, freedom of sound expression, feeling of being connected to the surroundings and comforted by the presence of others, according to mechanisms described in the study. Negative appraisal could trigger coping strategies (e.g., controlling windows, playing music, wearing headphones) and behavioural changes (e.g., lowering the volume of the voice or music, muting oneself during call, changing workout type) that could in turn limit or enhance the freedom of behaviour, affect or foster wellbeing. Negative impacts were most frequently reported on WFH (by 55% of the participants), followed by relaxation activities (40.6%), sexual activities (30.1%), and home workout (20.1%). The ideal soundscape was described as a quiet, well-sound insulated environment, which guarantees access to positive sounds (i.e., natural sounds, music, urban background), thus resulting in privacy, intimacy, and a place where to express themselves without noise-related constraints. The study complements literature findings on housing design directions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, by providing further evidence on the impacts of poor sound insulation at home, the potential benefits of nature-based solutions for positive indoor soundscapes, and opportunities for an activity-based design of domestic environments, inclusive of a broader set of home uses and household compositions.

A qualitative and quantitative synthesis of the impacts of COVID-19 on soundscapes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The current prolonged coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has substantially influenced numerous facets of our daily lives for over two years. Although a number of studies have explored the pandemic impacts on soundscapes worldwide, their works have not been reviewed comprehensively nor systematically, hence a lack of prospective soundscape goals based upon global evidence. This review study examines evidence of the COVID-19 crisis impacts on soundscapes and quantifies the prevalence of unprecedented changes in acoustic environments. Two key-research classes were identified based on a systematic content analysis of the 119 included studies: (1) auditory perceptual change and (2) noise level change due to the COVID-19 pandemic/lockdown. Our qualitative synthesis ascertained the substantial adverse consequences of pandemic soundscapes on human health and well-being while beneficial aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic on soundscapes were yet identified. Furthermore, meta-analysis results highlight that the observed average noise-level reduction (148 averaged samples derived from 31 studies) varied as a function of the stringency level of the COVID-19 confinement policies imposed by the governments, which would be further moderated by urban morphology and main noise sources. Given these collective findings, we propose soundscape materiality, its nexus with related the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs), and prospective approaches to support resilient soundscapes during and after the pandemic, which should be achieved to enhance healthy living and human well-being.

Evaluation of Expressive Arts Therapy on the Resilience of University Students in COVID-19: A Network Analysis Approach

As an alternative to traditional verbal counselling, expressive arts therapy has been shown to be an effective method of mental health care, particularly when dealing with stressful public interactions, such as those associated with COVID-19. However, few studies have been conducted to determine the efficacy of expressive arts therapy on the resilience of psychologically exposed university students during COVID-19. Furthermore, since network analysis appears to be a popular approach in psychological research, it has not been used in recent intervention studies for resilience. As a result, the current study utilized a network analysis approach to determine the efficacy of expressive arts therapy on the resilience of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 263 students in a comprehensive university in China were selected for the therapy group between March and November 2021. In a pre-post design, students’ resilience was assessed using the Resiliency Scale for University Students (RSUS). The extended Bayesian information criteria (EBIC) and graphical LASSO were used to estimate and define paired resilience networks, and the strength, betweenness, and closeness indices were utilized to determine the centrality of the six facets of resilience. Additionally, we verified the stability and accuracy. It was discovered that significant differences appeared between the paired networks before and after expressive arts therapy. Facets of self-efficacy, self-acceptance and problem-solving in resilience were notably improved after the therapy, with the variable of emotional stability sustained at the mean level. Meanwhile, the network analysis has highlighted the central variable of self-efficacy in the pre-intervention and support from friends in the post-intervention. The connectivity among the components of problem solving, support from friends, and support from family was enhanced, with support from friends playing the role of hub nod in the following network. By utilizing a network analytic approach, expressive arts therapy can be more targeted in intervening in resilience mechanisms. As a proxy for efficacious problem-solving, intervention should be calibrated to the cultivation of social support networks, especially in the support from friends.

Does Individuals' Perception of Wastewater Pollution Decrease Their Self-Rated Health? Evidence from China

Background: This study used original survey data to quantitatively investigate the associations between individuals’ perception of locally present wastewater pollution and their self-rated health. Methods: This research used the data from large-scale surveys covering all the 31 provinces and equivalent administrative units in mainland China and interviewed 6112 participants. The ordered logit method was employed to estimate the models. Results: The results indicated that individuals’ perceptions of local industrial and domestic wastewater pollution significantly decrease their self-rated health. If industrial wastewater pollution was reported, the possibility of the observers indicating lower levels of self-rated current health, comparing to the past year, and comparing with peers, all increased by 26% (p < 0.001), 23% (p = 0.005), and 18% (p = 0.006), respectively. Likewise, perceived domestic wastewater pollution led to the increase by 21% (p = 0.012), 17% (p = 0.034), and 33% (p = 0.000), respectively. Meanwhile, reported industrial wastewater pollution also has an obvious negative effect on individuals’ health performance, such as being more fatigued and upset. Conclusions: The survey clearly shows that Chinese individuals who are aware of water pollution in their living environment tend to experience more negative health outcomes, which adds additional urgency to improving wastewater treatment.

Noise complaint patterns in New York City from January 2010 through February 2021: Socioeconomic disparities and COVID-19 exacerbations

BACKGROUND

Excessive environmental noise exposure and noise annoyance have been linked to adverse physical and mental health outcomes. Although socioeconomic disparities in acoustically measured and geospatially estimated noise have been established, less is known about disparities in noise complaints, one of the most common sources of distress reported to local municipalities. Furthermore, although some studies have posited urban quieting during the COVID-19 pandemic, little empirical work has probed this and probed noise complaints during the pandemic.

OBJECTIVES

Using over 4 million noise complaints from the New York City (NYC) 311 database, we quantified census tract-level socioeconomic disparities in noise complaints since 2010 and examined how such disparities changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Using data from January 2010 through February 2020, we fit linear mixed-effects models, estimating monthly tract-level noise complaints by the proportion of residents who were low-income, time in months since January 2010, categorical month, their interactions, and potential confounds, such as total population and population density. To estimate COVID-19 pandemic effects, we included additional data from March 2020 through February 2021 and additional interactions between proportion low-income, month of year, and an indicator variable for COVID-19 pandemic onset in March 2020.

RESULTS

Census tracts with a higher proportion of low-income residents reported more monthly noise complaints and this increased over time (time × month × proportion low-income interaction p-values < .0001 for all months), particularly in warmer months. Socioeconomic disparities in noise complaints were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic (month × proportion low-income × pandemic era interaction p-values < .0001 for March through November), also in a seasonal manner.

DISCUSSION

Since 2010, noise complaints have increased the most in the most economically distressed communities, particularly in warmer seasons. This disparity was particularly exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, contrary to some theories of urban quieting. Community-based interventions to ameliorate noise and noise annoyance, both public health hazards, are needed in underserved communities.

Effect of Housing Quality on the Mental Health of University Students during the COVID-19 Lockdown

COVID-19 outbreak imposed rapid and severe public policies that consistently impacted the lifestyle habits and mental health of the general population. Despite vaccination, lockdown restrictions are still considered as potential measures to contrast COVID-19 variants spread in several countries. Recent studies have highlighted the impacts of lockdowns on the population's mental health; however, the role of the indoor housing environment where people spent most of their time has rarely been considered. Data from 8177 undergraduate and graduate students were collected in a large, cross-sectional, web-based survey, submitted to a university in Northern Italy during the first lockdown period from 1 April to 1 May 2020. Logistic regression analysis showed significant associations between moderate and severe depression symptomatology (PHQ-9 scores ≥ 15), and houses with both poor indoor quality and small dimensions (OR = 4.132), either medium dimensions (OR = 3.249) or big dimensions (OR = 3.522). It was also found that, regardless of housing size, poor indoor quality is significantly associated with moderate-severe depressive symptomatology. Further studies are encouraged to explore the long-term impact of built environment parameter modifications on mental health, and therefore support housing and public health policies.

Associations between indoor soundscapes, building services and window opening behaviour during the COVID-19 lockdown

Results of an online survey conducted during the COVID-19 lockdown among 848 home workers living in London (United Kingdom) and in Italy are reported with a focus on (1) the impacts of building services on the perception of the acoustic environment while working and relaxing at home and (2) the factors associated with window opening behaviour. The analyses showed no significant difference in soundscape appropriateness for relaxation depending on the heating, ventilation and cooling system typologies, and in soundscape appropriateness for working from home (WFH) based on the ventilation strategy. Higher soundscape appropriateness for WFH was associated with houses equipped only with radiant floors for heating in Italy and with air-cooling systems in London. In London, air systems resulted in higher perceived dominance of noise from building services compared to other systems. Overall, rooms with less dominant sounds from building services were evaluated as more appropriate for working and relaxing. The dominance of sky or buildings from the window view, outdoor noisiness, noise sensitivity, age and gender were not significantly associated with participants' window opening behaviour while WFH. Differently, participants viewing more vegetation from windows in Italy were more likely (odds ratio: 1.279) to keep the window open while WFH.

COVID-19-Related Psychological Trauma and Psychological Distress Among Community-Dwelling Psychiatric Patients: People Struck by Depression and Sleep Disorders Endure the Greatest Burden

COVID-19 has created a general state of worry and distress, especially among vulnerable groups such as those with psychiatric diagnoses. Worldwide, psychiatric care provision has drastically suffered during the pandemic, with many patients unable to access proper care, which may have implications for increased mental health consequences in patients with psychiatric disorders (e.g., relapse and suicide). This cross-sectional study used structural equation modeling to investigate COVID-19-related trauma and distress among Arab psychiatric population during COVID-19 quarantine. Patients with pre-existing psychiatric disorders (N = 168) completed an online survey that comprised the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and a questionnaire on COVID-19-related attitudes/perceptions, sources of information, used protective measures, and socio-demographic information. Respondents commonly reported feeling down-hearted/blue, trouble concentrating, along with symptoms of avoidance and rumination related to the pandemic. Patients with depression and sleep disorders expressed higher COVID-19-related trauma than patients with other disorders. Perceived physical health mediated the effect of co-morbid chronic physical disorders on COVID-19 trauma, psychological distress, perceived vulnerability to COVID-19, and perceived likelihood of recovery in case of contracting COVID-19. Perceived physical health and perceived vulnerability to COVID-19 were strong direct predictors of COVID-19-related trauma and psychological distress. Staying at home negatively predicted COVID-19 trauma and exerted an indirect negative effect on psychological distress via COVID-19 trauma. COVID-19 trauma, age, and marital status directly predicted psychological distress, with COVID-19 trauma being the strongest predictor. Educational level, income, having family members working in the medical field, keeping up to date with the news on deaths/infected cases or the development of COVID-19 drugs or vaccines, satisfaction with available information on COVID-19, and using different protective measures were not associated with significant differences in COVID-19 trauma and psychological distress scores. Immuno-psychiatric interventions should be designed to target COVID-19-trauma and distress among younger single patients with perceived poor physical health, especially those diagnosed with depression and sleep disorders.

Indoor soundscapes at home during the COVID-19 lockdown in London - Part I: Associations between the perception of the acoustic environment, occupantś activity and well-being

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a result of the adoption of worldwide lockdown measures, the home environment has become the place where all the daily activities are taking place for many people. In these changed social and acoustical contexts, we wanted to evaluate the perception of the indoor acoustic environment in relation to traditional and new activities performed at home, i.e., relaxation, and working from home (WFH). Taking London as a case study, the present paper presents the results of an online survey administered to 464 home workers in January 2021. The survey utilized a previously developed model for the assessment of indoor soundscapes to describe the affective responses to the acoustic environments in a perceptual space defined by comfort (i.e. how comfortable or annoying the environment was judged) and content (i.e., how saturated the environment is with events and sounds) dimensions. A mixed-method approach was adopted to reinforce result validity by triangulating data from questionnaires and spontaneous descriptions given by participants. In this first part of the study, the main objectives were: (1) evaluating differences in soundscape evaluation, in terms of comfort and content dimensions, based on the activity performed at home, (2) identifying appropriate conditions for WFH and relaxation, and (3) investigating associations between psychological well-being and indoor soundscapes. The results showed that the environments were perceived as more comfortable and slightly fuller of content when rated in relation to relaxation than for WFH, thus suggesting a stricter evaluation of the acoustic environment in the latter case. As regards the second objective, spaces that were more appropriate for relaxation had high comfort, whereas spaces appropriate for WFH resulted more private and under control, i.e. with high comfort and low content scores. Lastly, better psychological well-being was associated with more comfortable soundscapes, both for WFH (r_s = 0.346, p < .0005), and relaxation (r_s = 0.353, p < .0005), and with lower content while WFH (r_s = -0.133, p = .004). The discussion points out the need of considering the implications of changed working patterns to rethink the design of soundscapes in residential buildings, also in relation to potential well-being outcomes that will be further investigated in the Part II of the study.

The Interplay between Housing Environmental Attributes and Design Exposures and Psychoneuroimmunology Profile-An Exploratory Review and Analysis Paper in the Cancer Survivors' Mental Health Morbidity Context

Adult cancer survivors have an increased prevalence of mental health comorbidities and other adverse late-effects interdependent with mental illness outcomes compared with the general population. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) heralds an era of renewed call for actions to identify sustainable modalities to facilitate the constructs of cancer survivorship care and health care delivery through physiological supportive domestic spaces. Building on the concept of therapeutic architecture, psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) indicators-with the central role in low-grade systemic inflammation-are associated with major psychiatric disorders and late effects of post-cancer treatment. Immune disturbances might mediate the effects of environmental determinants on behaviour and mental disorders. Whilst attention is paid to the non-objective measurements for examining the home environmental domains and mental health outcomes, little is gathered about the multidimensional effects on physiological responses. This exploratory review presents a first analysis of how addressing the PNI outcomes serves as a catalyst for therapeutic housing research. We argue the crucial component of housing in supporting the sustainable primary care and public health-based cancer survivorship care model, particularly in the psychopathology context. Ultimately, we illustrate a series of interventions aiming at how housing environmental attributes can trigger PNI profile changes and discuss the potential implications in the non-pharmacological treatment of cancer survivors and patients with mental morbidities.

Increases in noise complaints during the COVID-19 lockdown in Spring 2020: A case study in Greater London, UK

Many cities around the world have claimed that the enforcement of lockdown measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 and the corresponding limitations of human activities led to reduced environmental noise levels. However, noise complaints reported by many local authorities were on the rise soon after the local lockdowns came into force. This research took Greater London in the UK as a case study. The overall aim was examining how noise complaints changed during the first stages of the lockdown implementation, during Spring 2020, both locally and at city scale, and how urban factors may have been influencing them. Noise complaint and urban factor datasets from the Government's publicly available data warehouse were used. The results show that during the COVID-19 lockdown the number of noise complaints increased by 48%, compared with the same period during Spring 2019. In terms of noise sources, complaints about construction (36%) and neighbourhood (50%) noise showed significant increases. Urban factors, including housing and demographic factors, played a more significant role than the actual noise exposure to road and rail traffic noise, as derived from the London noise maps. In detail, the change rate of noise complaints was higher in areas with higher unemployment rates, more residents with no qualifications, and lower house price. It is expected that this study could help government with allocating resources more effectively and achieve a better urban environment.

Perception of the acoustic environment during COVID-19 lockdown in Argentina

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly modified the behavior of societies. The application of isolation measures during the crisis resulted in changes in the acoustic environment. The aim of this work was to characterize the perception of the acoustic environment during the COVID-19 lockdown of people residing in Argentina in 2020. A descriptive cross-sectional correlational study was carried out. A virtual survey was conducted from April 14 to 26, 2020, and was answered mainly by social network users. During this period, Argentina was in a strict lockdown. The sample was finally composed of 1371 people between 18 and 79 years old. It was observed that most of the participants preferred the new acoustic environment. Mainly in the larger cities, before the isolation, mechanical sounds predominated, accompanied by the perception of irritation. Confinement brought a decrease in mechanical sounds and an increase in biological sounds, associated with feelings of tranquility and happiness. The time window opened by the lockdown offered an interesting scenario to assess the effect of anthropogenic noise pollution on the urban environment. This result offers a subjective approach, which contributes to understanding the link between individuals and communities with the environment.