Environmental noise levels in hospital settings : a rapid review of measurement techniques and implementation in hospital settings

Wallis, R; Harris, E; Lee, H; Davies, WJ; Astin, F

Abstract

Background: Hospitals provide treatment to improve patient health and well-being but the characteristics of the care environment receive little attention. Excessive noise at night has a negative impact on in-patient health through disturbed sleep. To address this hospital staff must measure night-time environmental noise levels. Therefore, an understanding of environmental noise measurement techniques is required. In this review, we aim to 1) provide a technical overview of factors to consider when measuring environmental noise in hospital settings; 2) conduct a rapid review on the equipment and approaches used to objectively measured noise in hospitals and identify methodological limitations. Design: A rapid review of original research articles, from 3 databases, published since 2008. Studies were included if noise levels were objectively measured in a hospital setting where patients were receiving treatment. Results: 1429 articles were identified with 76 included in the review. There was significant variability in the approaches used to measure environmental noise in hospitals. Only 14.5% of studies contained sufficient information to support replication of the measurement process. Most studies measured noise levels using a sound level meter positioned closed to a patient’s bed area in an intensive care unit. Conclusion: Unwanted environmental noise in hospital setting impacts negatively on patient and staff health and well-being. However, this literature review found that the approaches used to objectively measure noise level in hospital settings have been inconsistent and poorly reported. Recommendations on best-practice methods to measure noise levels in hospital environments are provided.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 3, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Aug 18, 2020
• Publication Date: Aug 18, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 23, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 2, 2020
• Journal: Noise and Health
• Print ISSN: 1463-1741
• Electronic ISSN: 1998-4030
• Publisher: Medknow Publications
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 102
• Pages: 200-216
• Publisher URL: http://www.noiseandhealth.org/text.asp?2019/21/102/200/292346
• Related Public URLs: http://www.noiseandhealth.org/
• Additional Information: Access Information : The published version of this article is free to read using the link above.