Noise Survey in Patient Rooms of a Hospital

Details

• Personal Author:
  Akbar-Khanzadeh F ; Braskie M
• Description:
  Objective: Noise is a problem in hospitals that can affect patients and staff alike. Patients are more susceptible and complain about the loud noise and, usually, industrial hygienists are called in to evaluate the complaint and recommend measures to overcome the problem. Methods: This study was performed in a hospital unit that had reported the lowest patient satisfaction on room quietness. The instruments used to determine the noise levels included a noise dosimeter (model 500) and a sound level meter (model 2400) both made by Quest Technologies Inc. The dosimeter was strategically placed in a patient's room, near the ear of the patient. The dosimeter recorded data continuously for 32 hours. The sound level meter was used hourly in order to provide randomized direct-reading data for the first 8 hours of sampling. Continuous observations were made by the researchers throughout the data collection. Any sudden loud noise was logged in an observation logbook along with the time of its occurrence. Results: The peak noise levels ranged up to 150.8 dBC and the average noise levels ranged up to 108 dBA as compared to recommended noise level of 35 dBA. The sources of noise were overhead paging, phones ringing, loud talking, doors slamming, carts and beds rolling through the hallway, and pagers beeping. Front desk nurses, doctors, visitors, and sometimes patients were observed huddled around the desk, engaged in loud conversation. The front desk was also the origin of noise from the overhead pages. Conclusions: In addition to engineered noise control options, the following actions can be taken to reduce the patients' exposure to noise: require staff to have their pagers on vibrating mode, remind staff to keep noise levels down, post signs at the main entrance to the floor reminding visitors and staff to keep their voices down and prevent door slamming. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Exposure Assessment Health Care Facilities Noise Exposure Noise Levels Noise Measurement
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  42
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054461
• Citation:
  AIHce 2010: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 22-27, 2010, Denver, Colorado. Falls Church, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2010 May; :42
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Performing Organization:
  University of Toledo Health Science Campus, Ohio
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  AIHce 2010: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 22-27, 2010, Denver, Colorado
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cebff5b6a93730de919d4abcb1571897455f5b1ba0176c05b145eeb97f1896eae3a4652aef3f47c86861b2489b7cbb0807f2af51fd34dbbcc9d566ea413775c5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217021/cdc_217021_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 536.16 KB ]