Investigation of airborne contaminant transmissions using network models: COVID-19 outbreak and potential risk in senior care facilities
Many COVID-19 outbreaks occurred in senior care facilities during the last three years. Senior care facilities are nursing places for the long-term treatment and care of senior citizens, who are prone to be exposed to an infectious disease that spreads into these buildings. Therefore, this study inv...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024173586 |
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| author | Chul Kim Yun Gyu Lee Kichul Kim |
| author_facet | Chul Kim Yun Gyu Lee Kichul Kim |
| author_sort | Chul Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many COVID-19 outbreaks occurred in senior care facilities during the last three years. Senior care facilities are nursing places for the long-term treatment and care of senior citizens, who are prone to be exposed to an infectious disease that spreads into these buildings. Therefore, this study investigated airborne contaminant transmissions based on outbreak cases in senior care facilities in Korea and analyzed the potential impact of architectural features in a selected senior care facility using network simulations. The results showed that during COVID-19 outbreaks in 85 senior care facilities the staff accounted for the largest proportion of the index cases, indicating that the staff members would be the primary virus carriers in the initial process of the virus transmission in the senior care facilities. Network simulations indicated that the (reverse) stack effect could significantly influence airborne contaminant transmission in these facilities during the summer and winter months. The indoor airborne contaminant exposure may change according to seasonal indoor airflows, with the potential for long-distance airborne contaminant transfer through shafts (e.g., elevators and staircases) in the senior care facility. The findings of this study can serve as a reference for developing customized countermeasures against airborne contaminant transmissions in senior care facilities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-278412fef0d24564b308f77ed0ded476 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj-art-278412fef0d24564b308f77ed0ded4762025-01-17T04:50:55ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-01-01111e41327Investigation of airborne contaminant transmissions using network models: COVID-19 outbreak and potential risk in senior care facilitiesChul Kim0Yun Gyu Lee1Kichul Kim2Department of Architectural Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Korea; Corresponding author.Department of Building Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang-Si, 10223, KoreaDepartment of Building Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang-Si, 10223, Korea; Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, KoreaMany COVID-19 outbreaks occurred in senior care facilities during the last three years. Senior care facilities are nursing places for the long-term treatment and care of senior citizens, who are prone to be exposed to an infectious disease that spreads into these buildings. Therefore, this study investigated airborne contaminant transmissions based on outbreak cases in senior care facilities in Korea and analyzed the potential impact of architectural features in a selected senior care facility using network simulations. The results showed that during COVID-19 outbreaks in 85 senior care facilities the staff accounted for the largest proportion of the index cases, indicating that the staff members would be the primary virus carriers in the initial process of the virus transmission in the senior care facilities. Network simulations indicated that the (reverse) stack effect could significantly influence airborne contaminant transmission in these facilities during the summer and winter months. The indoor airborne contaminant exposure may change according to seasonal indoor airflows, with the potential for long-distance airborne contaminant transfer through shafts (e.g., elevators and staircases) in the senior care facility. The findings of this study can serve as a reference for developing customized countermeasures against airborne contaminant transmissions in senior care facilities.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024173586Senior care facilityAirborne contaminantStack effectCase studyCountermeasure |
| spellingShingle | Chul Kim Yun Gyu Lee Kichul Kim Investigation of airborne contaminant transmissions using network models: COVID-19 outbreak and potential risk in senior care facilities Heliyon Senior care facility Airborne contaminant Stack effect Case study Countermeasure |
| title | Investigation of airborne contaminant transmissions using network models: COVID-19 outbreak and potential risk in senior care facilities |
| title_full | Investigation of airborne contaminant transmissions using network models: COVID-19 outbreak and potential risk in senior care facilities |
| title_fullStr | Investigation of airborne contaminant transmissions using network models: COVID-19 outbreak and potential risk in senior care facilities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigation of airborne contaminant transmissions using network models: COVID-19 outbreak and potential risk in senior care facilities |
| title_short | Investigation of airborne contaminant transmissions using network models: COVID-19 outbreak and potential risk in senior care facilities |
| title_sort | investigation of airborne contaminant transmissions using network models covid 19 outbreak and potential risk in senior care facilities |
| topic | Senior care facility Airborne contaminant Stack effect Case study Countermeasure |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024173586 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chulkim investigationofairbornecontaminanttransmissionsusingnetworkmodelscovid19outbreakandpotentialriskinseniorcarefacilities AT yungyulee investigationofairbornecontaminanttransmissionsusingnetworkmodelscovid19outbreakandpotentialriskinseniorcarefacilities AT kichulkim investigationofairbornecontaminanttransmissionsusingnetworkmodelscovid19outbreakandpotentialriskinseniorcarefacilities |