Assessing the Level of Safety Measures in University Classrooms: A Case Study in a University in the Southwest of Iran

Background: The classroom is an important part of the educational environment, which should meet the standard requirements including safety and adequate spaces regarding the number of learners, color, lighting, noise, proper equipment, and air conditioning. This study aimed to investigate the safety level of classrooms in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) classrooms (n=63), in the south-west of Iran. Data regarding the safety measures were collected using an audit checklist. Finally, an index called Classroom Safety Requirement Index (CSRI) was introduced in order to calculate percentage of safety measures in the classrooms. Results: The results revealed that the ‘environmental condition’ dimension of the CSRI was in a good level. The ‘building’, ‘equipment’ and ‘electrical’ dimensions were in the medium level, and the ‘fire safety and emergency’ dimension was placed in the poor level. 38.70% of the classes (24 classes) were in the Standard Occupant Load (SOL or degree of overcrowding) and others (61.30% of classrooms) were overcrowded (unacceptable occupant load). Conclusion: The examined classrooms were very poor regarding the ‘fire safety’ and ‘emergency exit’, which requires proper and appropriate measures to improve safety in these areas.