三家退伍军人事务医疗中心的病房和护士站的噪声水平。

Noise Levels in Patient Rooms and at Nursing Stations at Three VA Medical Centers.

机构信息

Center for Evaluation of Practices and Experiences of Patient-Centered Care (CEPEP), Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL, USA Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (SCI QUERI), Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL, USA Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Health Care (CINCCH), Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL, USA

出版信息

HERD. 2015 Fall;9(1):54-63. doi: 10.1177/1937586715592635. Epub 2015 Jul 10.

DOI:10.1177/1937586715592635

PMID:26163570

Abstract

OBJECTIVES

To conduct an assessment of sound, dB(A) levels, in two areas of the hospital: patient rooms and nurse stations using sound meters (SMs).

BACKGROUND

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends sound levels of 35 dB(A) during the day and 30 dB(A) during the night; however, many hospitals exceed these recommended levels. Assessing post-occupancy sound levels enables hospital administrators and healthcare workers to identify whether interventions to improve sound levels are needed.

METHODS

Sound assessments were conducted at three healthcare facilities in both patient rooms and nursing stations, and we include information on facility characteristics. An Amprobe SM-20A Sound Level Meter was placed for a 24-hr period and recorded decibel levels every 8 min. These sound levels were averaged for each hour for reporting purposes. Averages as well as highest and lowest readings are reported for both daytime (8 a.m.-10 p.m.) and nighttime (10 p.m.-8 a.m.) for each facility.

RESULTS

All three sites are considered urban and are classified with the highest complexity level (1a). Average daytime measurements for patient rooms and their corresponding nurses stations were as follows: Site A-63 dB(A)/56 dB(A), Site B-52 dB(A)/55 dB(A), and Site C-42 dB(A)/59 dB(A). Average nighttime measurements for patient rooms and nurses stations were Site A-62 dB(A)/55 dB(A), Site B-48 dB(A)/55 dB(A), and Site C-42 dB(A)/60 dB(A).

CONCLUSION

Our findings, considered independently and collectively, showed that facilities in this study exceeded the WHO-recommended sound levels for patient rooms of 35 dB(A) during daytime and 30 dB(A) during nighttime. Research has reported negative patient outcomes, for example, decreased satisfaction, sleep disturbance, and higher incidence of rehospitalization in patients staying in areas with higher noise levels.

摘要

目的

使用声级计（SM）评估医院两个区域（病房和护士站）的声音、dB（A）水平。

背景

世界卫生组织（WHO）建议白天的声音水平为 35 dB（A），夜间为 30 dB（A）；然而，许多医院超过了这些推荐水平。评估入住后声音水平可以使医院管理人员和医护人员确定是否需要采取干预措施来改善声音水平。

方法

在三家医疗保健机构的病房和护士站进行了声音评估，并提供了有关设施特点的信息。Amprobe SM-20A 声级计放置了 24 小时，每 8 分钟记录一次分贝水平。为了报告目的，将这些声音水平平均为每个小时。报告了每个设施的白天（8 点-10 点）和夜间（10 点-8 点）的平均值以及最高和最低读数。

结果

所有三个地点都被认为是城市地区，属于最高复杂级别（1a）。病房及其相应护士站的日间平均测量值如下：A 点-63 dB（A）/56 dB（A），B 点-52 dB（A）/55 dB（A），C 点-42 dB（A）/59 dB（A）。夜间病房和护士站的平均测量值分别为 A 点-62 dB（A）/55 dB（A），B 点-48 dB（A）/55 dB（A）和 C 点-42 dB（A）/60 dB（A）。