# A Review of Indoor Air Quality in Social Housing Across Low- and Middle-Income Countries
## 5 Conclusions  
This review highlights critical issues and potential strategies related to improving indoor air quality (IAQ) in social housing across developing countries. While there is extensive knowledge regarding the negative health impacts of common indoor pollutants found in this review, such as PM2.5, PM10, CO, CO2, SO2, formaldehyde, TVOCs, and PAHs, especially in socio-economically disadvantaged communities, there are significant gaps in the research field. This review makes a novel contribution by focusing on IAQ challenges specific to LMICs, which are often overlooked in studies that mainly emphasize high-income countries [18; 27; 29]. In particular, an emphasis on adaptive architectural design and natural ventilation demonstrates an economically acceptable direction to reducing these pollutants. However, the current concentration of research in hot and warm, humid climates highlights a significant research gap in regions with other climates that may have special IAQ challenges and require unique solutions [76; 78]. A notable trend in the reviewed studies is that most are published after 2019 which can be attributed to rising global awareness of IAQ's health implications, advances in measurement and simulation technologies, and heightened attention to indoor environments following the COVID-19 pandemic.  
Geographically, the studies span multiple continents, but there is a strong regional focus on the Global South. The scarcity of direct measurement studies to empirically validate the effectiveness of IAQ improvement interventions further emphasizes the need for more comprehensive quantitative research. Additionally, occupant behavior remains underrepresented in IAQ studies in this setting, despite the evidence showing that actions such as window management and cooking practices significantly influence IAQ outcomes. This review adds to the field by linking behavioral strategies with architectural and technological solutions, emphasizing the importance of integrating cultural and behavioral insights into IAQ interventions. Public awareness campaigns, for instance, can bridge knowledge gaps, promote cleaner cooking methods, and encourage effective ventilation practices during high-pollutant activities [56; 64].  
Infrastructural limitations such as unreliable access to electricity, water, and heating force residents to rely on alternative and more polluting sources like firewood and kerosene, decreasing IAQ in social housing. Addressing these systemic issues is critical for improving the living standards and health outcomes of disadvantaged populations. Expanding the scope of IAQ research to include a broader range of climatic and geographic conditions, apply rigorous empirical methodologies and integrate behavioral insights can help develop more actionable and context specific strategies to address these challenges effectively.  
The following supporting information can be downloaded at: [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app15041858/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app15041858/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app15041858/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app15041858/s1)).  
Conceptualization, M.K., J.D. and S.S.; methodology, M.K.; formal analysis, M.K. and J.D.; writing--original draft preparation, M.K.; writing--review and editing, J.D. and S.S.; supervision, S.S. and J.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research received no external funding.  
Not applicable.  
The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article/supplementary material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.  
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.