Housing and HEALTH In the Roma Ethnic Minority – IMPLICATIONS for PUBLIC HEALTH and POLICY MAKING

Background

The Roma population is one of the largest ethnic minorities in central and eastern Europe and live in segregated villages.The poor social and economic situation of this minority comes with poor housing and with specific health hazards such as biomass-borne pollutants (biomass is the primary heating and cooking fuel). The objective of this study is assess the quality of the indoor air and housing in a broader sense in two large Roma villages in Slovakia and Romania and discuss health effects.

Methods

We measured carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide levels, temperature, relative humidity and total particulate matter in 17 houses in a Slovakian Roma village and 11 houses in a Romanian Roma village  in winter (heating season) and in summer. Continuous measurements were not feasible under the conditions. We used sort time measurements lasting 10-20 minutes with a point concentration measured every 10 seconds. We have repeated this cycle 2-3 times at least 1.5 hours apart.

Results

The median levels of CO in Slovakian houses ranged in winter from 1.1 to 19.7 mg/m³ and in summer from 0.4 to 2.65 mg/m³. In Romania the CO levels ranged from 2.8-17.8 mg/m³(p<0.001). The medians of CO₂ levels ranged in Slovakia in winter from 1684 to 2811936 mg/m³ and in summer from 978-1664 mg/m³(p<0.001). The medians of CO₂ levels in Romania ranged in winter from 727 to 3551 mg/m³. The majority of houses comprised of a single room, with insufficient ventilations and poorly sealed doors.

 Conclusions

As the inhabitants spend the majority of the day inside the house, the total exposure burden to the assessed pollutants is significant. Such exposure is related to especially respiratory and especially in children. Simple measures may prevent excess exposure.