Indoor plants as an additional preventive means of improving the air environment in closed rooms of preschool educational organizations

Annotation. The purpose of the study is to assess the role of the preventive (biological) effects of phytoncidal properties of indoor plants on the health of children who are in closed rooms of preschool educational institutions for a long time, in order to reduce the incidence rate in winter by taking a set of preventive measures. Material and methods: In the analysis of the assessment of increasing attendance and reducing morbidity in children in preschool in winter under the influence of phytoncidal properties of indoor plants, hygienic (sanitary-descriptive, monitoring, method of comparing actual indicators with hygienic standards, assessment of chances), biological (measurement of the area of the leaf apparatus, width and height of plants, assessment of chemical leaf composition) and statistical (methods of parametric and nonparametric statistics). The object of the study was the effect of indoor plants (safe for children's health, unpretentious in care and possessing phytoncidal properties according to literary sources) on the health of children 5-6 years old (in terms of attendance and morbidity in winter) attending preschool. The results and their discussion. The study determined a direct dependence on the placement of indoor plants and the omissions of children in the incidence of acute respiratory diseases in the study groups ("observation" and "control"). The experimental data obtained on the use of phytoncidal properties of indoor plants as an additional method of improving the air environment in the premises of preschool educational organizations suggest that indoor plants not only purify the air and contribute to a favorable preventive effect on children's health, but also prevent the development of acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI). Conclusion. The role of houseplants as an additional preventive means of improving the air environment of closed premises is determined. It has been experimentally established that indoor plants have a beneficial effect on air purification and a decrease in the development of microorganisms in children, which helps to increase immunity to colds, including acute respiratory diseases (ARI). The results obtained and the conclusions drawn at the same time indicate the need to use indoor indoor plants in order to prevent the beneficial effects of the released phytoncides on the health of children.