SPATIAL SICK BUILDING SYNDROME CONTROLE AND MANUFESTATIONS OF HEALTH CONDITIONS AMONG PEOPLE IN BUILDINGS IN ADAMAWA STATE

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the cause, symptoms and remedy of sick building syndrome among people of Adamawa State. The problem of the study is that, sick building syndrome among occupants of buildings is misconceived and attributed to other causes other than the building itself; instead of the person affected to get some relieve the condition gets worse under symptomatic treatments. The building due to some notable factors develops some harmful pathogens and emits some volatile organic compounds which affect unsuspected occupants who may seek medical care and remain in the building. Three specific objectives and research questions were formulated to guide the study. A descriptive survey research was used for the study; the area of the study is Adamawa State, in North Eastern Nigeria. The population of the study was made up of 20 Professional Estate developers and 30 Professional builders in the area of the study. Therefore, a sample size of 50 respondents was sampled using simple random sampling technique. A 26 items structured questionnaire which featured on tables 1, 2 and 3 were developed by the researcher and was utilized for the collection of data from the respondents. The structured questionnaire was on four point scale of Agree (A=4), Strongly Agree (SA=3), Disagree (D=2) and Strongly Disagree (SD=1). The instrument was validated by three experts in Modibbo Adama University, Yola. The number of instrument administered to the respondents were 51 copies with the help of research assistants’ 0ut of which 50 copies were retrieved representing 95 percent. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was found to be 0.87 using Cronback Alpha formula after trial test on population other than that of the area of the study. Mean and standard deviation was used for the analysis of data. The decision rule was that any mean above 2.50 regarded as agree and any below 2.50 was regarded as disagree. The three hypotheses were tested using t-test at 0.05 significance level. The hypothesis was accepted when the value of t-calculated was less than the t-table value for the given degree of freedom. One among the findings is that the symptom of sick building syndrome presents itself in feelings of tiredness, headache, nausea, nose bleeding, lack of concentration suffocation, irritation of eyes and nose among others. One of the recommendations made was that; Buildings should always have a quality indoor air, free from chemical substances, toxic volatile Organic Compounds, have adequate oxygen circulation, well ventilated, regularly maintained parts; prevent the entry of monoxide from power source and avoid dampness in the building.