Parry Georgia, Hoare Zoë, Hendry Annie, Brand Andrew, Abelian Artur
Department of Paediatrics, Maelor Hospital, Wrexham, UK.
North Wales Organisation for Randomised Trials in Health, Bangor, UK.
BMJ Paediatr Open. 2025 Aug 24;9(1):e003824. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2025-003824.
To examine how neonatal staff perceive the clinical impact of noise, including its influence on their performance and its potential contribution to neonatal morbidity.
A 56-item survey was developed, piloted and disseminated across all nine neonatal units in Wales, UK. Distribution was supported by unit-based study champions and weekly response monitoring. Responses were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as inductive thematic analysis.
A total of 405 valid responses were received from clinical staff, including 260 nurses, 126 doctors and 19 allied health professionals, representing 49.6% of all neonatal nurses and doctors in Wales. Respondents spanned all levels of seniority and unit types.
Primary outcomes were the proportion of staff who perceived noise as having (1) a direct negative impact on neonatal health and (2) an indirect impact via impaired staff performance. Secondary outcomes included specific perceived clinical consequences (e.g., sepsis, intraventricular haemorrhage, necrotising enterocolitis) and the prevalence of noise-mitigation strategies in practice.
92% of staff reported that noise directly affects neonatal health; 76% believed that it indirectly contributes to harm through its impact on staff functioning. Nearly half of doctors and over one-third of nurses linked this to serious complications. Free-text responses revealed themes of concern over clinical harm, impaired communication and lack of effective institutional response.
Neonatal professionals view noise as a clinically significant risk factor. These findings support the need for system-level noise-reduction strategies and further evaluation through multicentre interventional studies aimed at reducing neonatal morbidity.
探讨新生儿科工作人员如何看待噪音的临床影响，包括其对工作表现的影响以及对新生儿发病的潜在影响。
编制了一份包含56个条目的调查问卷，在英国威尔士的所有9个新生儿病房进行了预试验并分发。各病房的研究负责人提供支持并每周监测回复情况。使用描述性和推断性统计以及归纳主题分析对回复进行分析。
共收到405份临床工作人员的有效回复，包括260名护士、126名医生和19名专职医疗人员，占威尔士所有新生儿护士和医生的49.6%。受访者涵盖了所有资历级别和病房类型。
主要结果是认为噪音具有（1）对新生儿健康有直接负面影响和（2）通过损害工作人员表现产生间接影响的工作人员比例。次要结果包括具体的感知临床后果（如败血症、脑室内出血、坏死性小肠结肠炎）以及实践中噪音缓解策略的普及率。
92%的工作人员报告噪音直接影响新生儿健康；76%的人认为噪音通过对工作人员功能的影响间接导致伤害。近一半的医生和超过三分之一的护士将此与严重并发症联系起来。自由文本回复揭示了对临床伤害、沟通受损和缺乏有效机构应对措施的担忧主题。
新生儿科专业人员将噪音视为一个具有临床意义的风险因素。这些发现支持需要制定系统层面的降噪策略，并通过旨在降低新生儿发病率的多中心干预研究进行进一步评估。
