Housing and Health

At the end of this course, students should be able to: 1. define the following terms: housing, house, building, shelter and accommodation, urban, slum, urban squalor; 2. explain building codes and its application in day to day environmental health practice; 3. explain the characteristics of urban and rural housing; 4. identify different types of houses- bungalow, duplex, houses in multiple occupation, mall, schools, hospital, hotel, huts and many others; 5. list sanitary requirements of a house and their public health importance; 6. distinguish between poor housing and diseases occurrence; 7. analyse public health concerns in building plans and solutions; 8. determine the steps in building site inspection; 9. enumerate structural defects in buildings and recommendation; 10. support inter-sectorial collaboration among stakeholders in building sectors; 11. list common building laws and regulations in Nigeria; 12. outline the effects of poor housing on health; 13. determine level of overcrowding in buildings; 14. discuss the factors in housing which lead to morbidity and mortality; 15. explain public health aspects of the building code; 16. enumerate hazards associated with poor housing; 17. analyse housing-associated emergencies and risks; 18. itemise the importance of building inspection and reporting; 19. discuss Housing Health Rating System; 20. outline attributes of a healthy house; and 21. differentiate building decommissioning; building demolition and building collapse.

Introduction to housing. Housing standards. Urban and rural housing. Health requirements of housing – physical, physiological, psychological. Building types – commercial, residential, institutional, industrial, recreational, combined use and many others. use of building certifications. Building site selection. Building technology- drawing and reading of plan. Housing/building codes, edicts, or ordinances, laws and legislation of the various government levels. International and national legislations on housing. Criteria for building approval. Role of environmental health professionals in building approval and registration. Effects of poor housing on health. Overcrowding, slum settings, morbidities, mortalities, accidents, building defects. Public health aspects of the building code. Hazards associated with poor housing. Housing-associated emergencies. Building inspection and reporting. Housing Health Rating System. Attributes of a healthy house. Remedy to building defects. Building decommissioning. Building demolition. Building collapse.