Reexamining Environmental Health Risk Assessment in Urban Settlements

Abstract

Environmental health studies and practices tend to prioritise health and hygiene, with environmental sanitation, which encompasses behaviour and sanitation facilities, representing a significant concern in environmental health risks. Nevertheless, numerous studies have demonstrated that the physical components of buildings exert an impact on environmental health status. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the physical components of buildings influence environmental health risks and they can be incorporated as additional variables in the development of a more precise, valid, and comprehensive environmental health risk assessment model. In this study, a multistage random sampling technique was employed to obtain a total sample of 400 households. This study is a second-order construct that was measured formatively using an embedded two-stage approach. The findings of this study indicate that the physical component of the building has a significant effect on environmental health risks. This is indicated by the path coefficient value of 0.249. The most influential components are bedroom windows, floor type, ceiling, wall type, roof type, living room windows, occupancy density, temperature, humidity, and temperature. By identifying these neglected health risk factors, governments, health institutions, and communities can develop more effective and efficient strategies for mitigating environmental health risks.