Table 2.
Sociodemographic, Building Characteristics, Source Activities, and Environmental Measures by Homeownership and Multifamily Status, HOME Study, Chelsea, MA 2016-2017
| Renters in Multifamily unit (N=39) | Homeowners in Multifamily unit (N=22) | Homeowners in Single-family unit (N=10) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic characteristics | N | Percent | N | Percent | N | Percent | p* |
| Education | |||||||
| Up to Highschool, GED, or Some College | 33 | 85% | 10 | 45% | 3 | 30% | <0.001 |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 6 | 15% | 12 | 55% | 7 | 70% | |
| Race/ethnicity | |||||||
| White non-Hispanic | 8 | 21% | 14 | 64% | 6 | 60% | 0.006 |
| Hispanic/Latinx | 26 | 67% | 6 | 27% | 3 | 30% | |
| Other, Non-Hispanic (e.g. Black, Asian, Multiracial) | 5 | 13% | 2 | 9% | 1 | 10% | |
| Nativity | |||||||
| U.S.-born | 16 | 41% | 16 | 73% | 8 | 80% | 0.062 |
| Foreign-born | 23 | 59% | 6 | 27% | 2 | 20% | |
| Interview Language | |||||||
| English | 18 | 46% | 17 | 77% | 10 | 100% | <0.001 |
| Spanish | 21 | 54% | 5 | 23% | 0 | 0% | |
| Employment status^ | |||||||
| Yes | 19 | 27% | 34 | 87% | 17 | 85% | <0.001 |
| No | 51 | 73% | 5 | 13% | 3 | 15% | |
| Building characteristics | N | Percent | N | Percent | N | Percent | p* |
| Entrance to home | |||||||
| First floor | 10 | 26% | 7 | 32% | 10 | 100% | <0.001 |
| Second floor | 8 | 21% | 10 | 45% | 0 | 0% | |
| Third floor or higher | 21 | 54% | 5 | 23% | 0 | 0% | |
| Number of bedrooms | |||||||
| 1-2 bedrooms | 27 | 69% | 14 | 64% | 2 | 20% | 0.086 |
| 3 bedrooms | 9 | 23% | 4 | 18% | 3 | 30% | |
| 4+ bedrooms | 3 | 7% | 4 | 18% | 5 | 50% | |
| Number of units in Multifamily | |||||||
| 2 units | 5 | 13% | 5 | 23% | -- | -- | NA |
| 3-9 units | 13 | 33% | 8 | 36% | -- | -- | |
| 10+ units | 21 | 54% | 9 | 41% | -- | -- | |
| Year home built | |||||||
| 1850-1900 | 8 | 21% | 9 | 41% | 6 | 60% | <0.001 |
| 1901-1950 | 11 | 28% | 6 | 27% | 1 | 10% | |
| 1951-1970 | 19 | 49% | 1 | 5% | 3 | 30% | |
| 1971-2013 | 1 | 3% | 6 | 27% | 0 | 0% | |
| Central air use | |||||||
| Yes | 1 | 3% | 10 | 45% | 3 | 30% | <0.001 |
| No | 3 | 8% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | |
| No Central air | 35 | 90% | 12 | 55% | 7 | 70% | |
| Weatherization | |||||||
| Yes | 3 | 8% | 12 | 55% | 8 | 80% | <0.001 |
| No | 34 | 87% | 10 | 45% | 2 | 20% | |
| Don’t know | 2 | 5% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | |
| Range hood type | |||||||
| Exhaust to outdoor | 12 | 31% | 7 | 32% | 3 | 30% | 0.998 |
| Recirculating hood | 23 | 59% | 13 | 59% | 6 | 60% | |
| No range hood (use windows or ceiling fan) | 4 | 10% | 2 | 9% | 1 | 10% | |
| Range hood works?^ | |||||||
| Yes | 58 | 83% | 34 | 85% | 18 | 90% | 0.925 |
| No | 5 | 7% | 2 | 5% | 0 | 0% | |
| No range hood | 7 | 10% | 4 | 10% | 2 | 10% | |
| Stove fuel type | |||||||
| Electric | 21 | 54% | 10 | 45% | 3 | 30% | |
| Natural gas | 18 | 46% | 12 | 55% | 7 | 70% | 0.389 |
| Household Activity per Session^ | N | Percent | N | Percent | N | Percent | p* |
| Smoking indoors | |||||||
| Yes | 17 | 24% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | NA |
| No | 53 | 76% | 40 | 100% | 20 | 100% | |
| Smoking odors from neighbors | |||||||
| Yes | 43 | 61% | 16 | 40% | 7 | 35% | 0.030 |
| No | 27 | 39% | 23 | 58% | 13 | 65% | |
| Missing | -- | -- | 1 | 2% | -- | -- | |
| Incense use | |||||||
| Yes | 14 | 20% | 1 | 2% | 2 | 10% | 0.021 |
| No | 56 | 80% | 39 | 98% | 18 | 90% | |
| Prevalence of Daily Household Activity^ | Percent | SD | Percent | SD | Percent | SD | p† |
| Candle use | 15% | 31% | 7% | 19% | 11% | 27% | 0.739 |
| Spray air freshener use | 43% | 43% | 6% | 18% | 22% | 35% | <0.001 |
| Window open while cooking | 34% | 33% | 16% | 26% | 27% | 31% | 0.007 |
| Range hood on while cooking | 51% | 42% | 22% | 36% | 21% | 22% | <001 |
| Prevalence of 2-hour Household Activity^ | Percent | SD | Percent | SD | Percent | SD | p† |
| Occupancy at home | 75% | 28% | 69% | 14% | 78% | 11% | 0.001 |
| Air conditioning in living area | 11% | 23% | 10% | 27% | 10% | 25% | 0.744 |
| Window open in living area | 21% | 32% | 22% | 34% | 31% | 33% | 0.251 |
| Any Cooking | 16% | 14% | 9% | 7% | 10% | 7% | 0.002 |
| Frying/Grilling/Broiling | 7% | 9% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 4% | 0.427 |
| Environmental measures‡ | Mean (SD) | Median (0.05 – 0.95) | Mean (SD) | Median (0.05 – 0.95) | Mean (SD) | Median (0.05 – 0.95) | p† |
| Indoor PM2.5 (µg/m3) | 12.8 (14.3) | 8.2 (1.3 - 39.7) | 6.01 (4.2) | 5.2 (1.9 - 15.0) | 8.8 (17.0) | 4.4 (1.5 - 21.6) | 0.002 |
| Outdoor PM2.5 (µg/m3) | 5.6 (2.3) | 5.4 (2.8 - 9.7) | 5.2 (3.2) | 4.6 (2.5 - 9.9) | 5.2 (2.1) | 5.5 (2.2 - 8.8) | 0.354 |
| AER (h−1) | 0.70 (0.41) | 0.59 (0.32 - 1.5) | 0.52 (0.39) | 0.39 (0.23 - 1.1) | 0.58 (0.42) | 0.43 (0.34 - 1.7) | 0.004 |
Footnote: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. The time-scale noted for different household activities (e.g. 2-hour, daily, session) refer to the time period that participants were asked to report on such activity.
Denominator is total sessions from heating and non-heating seasons (N=130) instead of total households (N=71)
From χ2 or Fisher’s exact test (if expected cell counts <5). The p-value pertains to comparisons across the three household groups.
Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test of household-specific sampling sessions
Data missing for two households
Abbreviations: GED = General Education Development or High School Equivalence Certificate, AER = air exchange rate, Pct. = Percent, SD = Standard deviation, p = p-value