Environmental study of developing index on the health and well-being of occupants in affordable housing in Malaysia

• Main Authors: Kamaruzzaman, Syahrul Nizam, Myeda, Nik Elyna, Ishak, Nor Haniza, Asbullah, Nurul Aisyah, Riley, Mike
• Format: Article
• Published: Foundation for Environmental Protection and Research 2019
• Subjects: TH Building construction
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/24176/; http://www.ekolojidergisi.com/article/environmental-study-of-developing-index-on-the-health-and-well-being-of-occupants-in-affordable-5593
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

The rise of affordable housing in Malaysia has inspired a study on the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of affordable housing. This is because there are several studies that have proven that IEQ influences the health and wellbeing of the residents. The study was conducted in four different apartment developments in Klang Valley, Malaysia, by using a questionnaire survey. The Human Development Index (HDI) is developed based on the data collected from the study, using the formula provided by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia in their annual Malaysia Youth Index report (IBM). The HDI has indicated that the health and well-being of the occupants in Malaysian affordable housing developments are at the neutral category, scoring 72.16 over 100. Physical condition stands at an index score of 74.29 whilst no fatigue is at poor level with a score of 56.82, whereas for psychological condition, all the indicators are in the neutral category except for No annoyance item, which is in the good category. The index was developed for IEQ factors in affordable housing with data collected from the questionnaire survey. The index developed has shown that factors of IEQ are in both the Extremely disappointed range and the Extremely important range. The acoustic comfort factor gained the lowest score for level of satisfaction whilst indoor air quality gained the highest score for level of importance of IEQ. Noise level scored the lowest in the level of satisfaction and state of health scored the highest score for level of importance. This study aims to provide an overview on the health and wellbeing of occupants in Malaysian affordable housing and to assist the improvement of affordable housing for future development in order to improve the quality of life of residents in affordable housing developments. © Foundation Environmental Protection & Research-FEPR.