Dwairi Tamer Abdullah Taleb, Hassan Eman Arafa, Beshay Bassem Nashaat, Attia Amal Kadry Nicola
Faculty of Nursing, Irbid National University, Irbid, Jordan.
Critical Care and Emergency Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
Nurs Crit Care. 2025 Mar;30(2):e13095. doi: 10.1111/nicc.13095. Epub 2024 May 30.
Critical care nurses should help in reducing noise to improve the well-being of patients and health care providers.
To measure actual noise levels in intensive care units, identify nurses' perceived irritation levels of noise sources and examine the impact of noise on nurses' work performance and well-being.
This cross-sectional study was conducted from January to April 2023 at a teaching hospital's six intensive care units. It involved three phases: mapping locations for noise measurement, actual noise measurements in decibels and a cross-sectional survey to identify nurses' perceptions and the adverse effects of noise. Actual noise was measured between patients' beds, nursing stations and beside 16 noise sources for 7 days 24 h a day. For nurse perceptions, the mean of perceived irritation levels by a Likert scale for each noise source was calculated to present perceived noise levels. Ranking of noise sources according to the actual measured and perceived irritation by nurses was done based on mean values. Curve estimation regression test was used to predict the relationship between actual and perceived noise and stepwise multiple linear regression identified factors associated with noise adverse effects.
The mean noise level in the intensive care units was 65.55 dB. Nurses perceived mechanical ventilator alarms as the most irritating noise. However, the mean noise measurements showed that conversations among colleagues were the primary source of noise. There was no significant predictive relationship between the actual and perceived noise. Nurses reported feeling distressed, irritable, fatigued and less productive due to noise.
There was a discrepancy between actual and perceived noise levels by nurses. Perceived noise levels had more impact on nurses than actual noise.
By incorporating both objective measurements and subjective perceptions into efforts aimed at reducing noise, health care providers can create quieter intensive care units.
重症监护护士应协助降低噪音，以改善患者和医护人员的健康状况。
测量重症监护病房的实际噪音水平，确定护士对噪音源的感知烦躁程度，并研究噪音对护士工作表现和健康状况的影响。
这项横断面研究于2023年1月至4月在一家教学医院的六个重症监护病房进行。研究包括三个阶段：确定噪音测量地点、以分贝为单位进行实际噪音测量，以及进行横断面调查以确定护士的看法和噪音的不利影响。每天24小时，在患者床位之间、护理站以及16个噪音源旁边测量7天的实际噪音。对于护士的看法，计算每个噪音源在李克特量表上的感知烦躁程度平均值，以呈现感知噪音水平。根据实际测量值和护士感知的烦躁程度对噪音源进行排序，基于平均值进行排名。使用曲线估计回归测试来预测实际噪音和感知噪音之间的关系，并通过逐步多元线性回归确定与噪音不利影响相关的因素。
重症监护病房的平均噪音水平为65.55分贝。护士认为机械通气警报是最令人烦躁的噪音。然而，平均噪音测量结果显示，同事之间的交谈是主要噪音来源。实际噪音和感知噪音之间没有显著的预测关系。护士报告称，由于噪音，他们感到苦恼、烦躁、疲劳且工作效率降低。
护士实际感知的噪音水平与实际噪音水平存在差异。感知噪音水平对护士的影响大于实际噪音。
通过将客观测量和主观感知纳入降低噪音的工作中，医护人员可以营造更安静的重症监护病房。
