Environmental Noise Sources and Interventions to Minimize Them: A Tale of 2 Hospitals

Noise has been shown to interfere with the healing process and can disrupt the patient's experience. This study assessed patients' and staff's perceptions of noise levels and sources in the hospital environment and identified interventions to reduce the noise level. The interventions significantly reduced noise as perceived by patients and staff. Identification of a structured process to identify noise sources and standardization of noise measurement methods can improve the patient hospital experience.

[1]  B. Walder,et al.  Effects of guidelines implementation in a surgical intensive care unit to control nighttime light and noise levels , 2000, Critical care medicine.

[2]  Craig Zimring,et al.  The role of the physical environment in the hospital of the 21st century , 2004 .

[3]  Martin Christensen,et al.  Noise levels in a general surgical ward: a descriptive study. , 2005, Journal of clinical nursing.

[4]  M Topf,et al.  Interactive relationships between hospital patients' noise-induced stress and other stress with sleep. , 2001, Heart & lung : the journal of critical care.

[5]  K. Katz,et al.  Anxiety reaction in children during removal of their plaster cast with a saw. , 2001, The Journal of bone and joint surgery. British volume.

[6]  A. Axelsson.  [Noise and hearing loss]. , 1991, Lakartidningen.

[7]  S. Henderson,et al.  Noise in the ED. , 2005, The American journal of emergency medicine.

[8]  O. Doğan,et al.  Sleep quality in hospitalized patients. , 2005, Journal of clinical nursing.

[9]  Lisa Thornhill,et al.  Noise Reduction in the Hospital Setting , 2006, Journal of nursing care quality.

[10]  J. Byers,et al.  Noise and the premature infant: physiological effects and practice implications. , 2003, Journal of obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing : JOGNN.

[11]  M Buelow.  Noise level measurements in four Phoenix emergency departments. , 2001, Journal of emergency nursing: JEN : official publication of the Emergency Department Nurses Association.

[12]  Paul F. White,et al.  The Effect of Noise on the Bispectral Index During Propofol Sedation , 2001, Anesthesia and analgesia.

[13]  Per Thorgaard,et al.  Designed sound and music environment in postanaesthesia care units--a multicentre study of patients and staff. , 2005, Intensive & critical care nursing.

[14]  F Benini,et al.  Behavioural and physiological reactivity to noise in the newborn , 2004, Journal of paediatrics and child health.

[15]  U. Edéll-Gustafsson,et al.  Noise and sleep disturbance factors before and after implementation of a behavioural modification programme. , 2005, Intensive & critical care nursing.

[16]  R. Millman,et al.  Identification and modification of environmental noise in an ICU setting. , 1998, Chest.

[17]  G. Elander,et al.  Reduction of noise levels in intensive care units for infants: evaluation of an intervention program. , 1995, Heart & lung : the journal of critical care.

[18]  A. Zanchetti,et al.  Transient but not sustained blood pressure increments by occupational noise. An ambulatory blood pressure measurement study , 2001, Journal of hypertension.

[19]  Craig Zimring,et al.  The Role of the Physical Environment in the Hospital of the 21 st Century: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity , 2004 .

[20]  J. Gabor,et al.  Contribution of the intensive care unit environment to sleep disruption in mechanically ventilated patients and healthy subjects. , 2003, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[21]  F. Nightingale.  Notes on Nursing. What It Is, and What It Is Not , 1860, Sogo kango. Comprehensive nursing, quarterly.

[22]  Ellen C Haas,et al.  Noise, stress, and annoyance in a pediatric intensive care unit , 2003, Critical care medicine.

[23]  A B Wysocki.  The effect of intermittent noise exposure on wound healing. , 1996, Advances in wound care : the journal for prevention and healing.

[24]  R. Phillips,et al.  Measurement of Sleep in Critically Ill Patients , 2000, Journal of Nursing Measurement.

[25]  S. Balian,et al.  Responses of Premature Infants to Routine Nursing Interventions And Noise in the NICU , 1995, Nursing research.

[26]  Cheryl Ann Cmiel,et al.  Noise control: a nursing team's approach to sleep promotion. , 2004, The American journal of nursing.

[27]  M Irwin,et al.  Effects of sleep and sleep deprivation on interleukin-6, growth hormone, cortisol, and melatonin levels in humans. , 2000, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[28]  A. N. Johnson.  Adapting the Neonatal Intensive Care Environment to Decrease Noise , 2003, The Journal of perinatal & neonatal nursing.

[29]  A. Pack,et al.  Abnormal sleep/wake cycles and the effect of environmental noise on sleep disruption in the intensive care unit. , 2001, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.