THE Impact of indoor thermal environment in winter on deterioration of care level in nursing home residents: A field survey on indoor thermal environment of nursing home and resident's care condition

Fifteen nursing home facilities were classified into two temperature groups (warm and cold) and two humidity groups (moist and dry) according to measured room temperature and relative humidity respectively. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the effect of indoor thermal environment on the condition of residents, characterised by the need for care. Two questions were evaluated: "Did the needed care level deteriorate (i.e., intensify)?" and "If so, how long did it take for care level to deteriorate?" The results showed that the cold group and the dry group had higher risks of deterioration of care level. Furthermore, residents in facilities that were both warm and moist had the lowest risk. This result suggests that both temperature and humidity are important in preventing the need for care.