Identifying Gap of Knowledge about Thermal Comfort in Naturally Ventilated Wards in Hot-humid Settings

This short review, drawing on sixteen studies that combined environmental and subjective measurements in hospital spaces, aims to highlight gaps in knowledge about thermal comfort in naturally ventilated wards in hot-humid settings. Although thermal comfort in naturally ventilated wards has been a significantly overlooked topic, wind-driven ventilation remains the primary mechanism for cooling and infection control in many hospital buildings with limited resources across the equatorial zone of the Global South. Identified evidentiary gaps include the lack of thermal comfort indexes with applicability for hospitalized patients in naturally ventilated wards with hot and humid conditions. To date across the equatorial zone, thermal comfort surveys of environmental and behavioral performances have not been applied in naturally ventilated inpatient facilities. At the same time, the interoperability of existing findings is limited by the lack of representative samples and comparable thermal acclimatization levels. In particular, the improvement of knowledge as regards existing thermal conditions and occupant adaptive behaviors can assist in the mitigation of overheating in hospital spaces that has become even more urgent in naturally ventilated wards across the equatorial zone, which are repurposed for the treatment of COVID-19 patients as the current pandemic evolves.

Keywords: Thermal comfort; Hospital; Inpatient ward; Natural ventilation; Hot-humid; Review

Abbreviation: Predicted Mean Vote: P.M.V; American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers: ASHRAE; American Institute of Architects: AIA; Corona Virus Disease 2019: COVID-19; Actual Mean Vote: A.M.V