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Hummel K, Ryherd E, Cheng X, Lowndes B. Relating clustered noise data to hospital patient satisfaction. J Acoust Soc Am 2023; 154:1239-1247. [PMID: 37615414 DOI: 10.1121/10.0020760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Hospital noise can be problematic for both patients and staff and consistently is rated poorly on national patient satisfaction surveys. A surge of research in the last two decades highlights the challenges of healthcare acoustic environments. However, existing research commonly relies on conventional noise metrics such as equivalent sound pressure level, which may be insufficient to fully characterize the fluctuating and complex nature of the hospital acoustic environments experienced by occupants. In this study, unsupervised machine learning clustering techniques were used to extract patterns of activity in noise and the relationship to patient perception. Specifically, nine patient rooms in three adult inpatient hospital units were acoustically measured for 24 h and unsupervised machine learning clustering techniques were applied to provide a more detailed statistical analysis of the acoustic environment. Validation results of five different clustering models found two clusters, labeled active and non-active, using k-means. Additional insight from this analysis includes the ability to calculate how often a room is active or non-active during the measurement period. While conventional LAeq was not significantly related to patient perception, novel metrics calculated from clustered data were significant. Specifically, lower patient satisfaction was correlated with higher Active Sound Levels, higher Total Percent Active, and lower Percent Quiet at Night metrics. Overall, applying statistical clustering to the hospital acoustic environment offers new insights into how patterns of background noise over time are relevant to occupant perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenton Hummel
- Durham School of Architectural Engineering & Construction, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Omaha, Nebraska 68182-0681, USA
| | - Erica Ryherd
- Durham School of Architectural Engineering & Construction, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Omaha, Nebraska 68182-0681, USA
| | - Xiaoyue Cheng
- Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska 68182-0681, USA
| | - Bethany Lowndes
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-8440, USA
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Quan X. Improving Ambulatory Surgery Environments: The Effects on Patient Preoperative Anxiety, Perception, and Noise. HERD 2023; 16:73-88. [PMID: 36740908 DOI: 10.1177/19375867221149990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The study aimed to comparatively evaluate three types of preoperative care environment in terms of patient experience outcomes including patient preoperative anxiety, perceived environmental qualities, and noise level. BACKGROUND Preoperative anxiety is a major healthcare problem causing delays, complications, dissatisfaction, and rising healthcare costs. The design of preoperative spaces may play an important role in reducing preoperative anxiety and improving outcomes. METHODS Anonymous questionnaire surveys were conducted with 228 patients in the three types of preoperative bays that varied in terms of bay size and the amount of hard-wall partitions between bays to compare patient self-reported anxiety and perceived environmental qualities. Sound level measurements were conducted throughout the three preoperative care units. RESULTS Female patients in the preoperative unit with largest bays and full hard-wall partitions between bays reported significantly lower levels of subjective anxiety (p's = .002, <.001) and higher levels of perceived environmental qualities on privacy, cleanliness, noise, and pleasantness (p's from <.001 to .017) than patients in the units with smaller bays and no or partial hard-wall partitions. Similar but less clear pattern was found among male patients. The lowest average noise levels were recorded in the unit with largest bays and full hard-wall partitions between bays (2.3-6.1 decibels lower than the other units). CONCLUSIONS The design of preoperative care environment may contribute to the better management of preoperative anxiety. Further efforts in research and design are needed to maximize the benefits in clinical, experiential, and financial outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaobo Quan
- Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
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Antoniadou M, Tziovara P, Antoniadou C. The Effect of Sound in the Dental Office: Practices and Recommendations for Quality Assurance-A Narrative Review. Dent J (Basel) 2022; 10:dj10120228. [PMID: 36547044 PMCID: PMC9776681 DOI: 10.3390/dj10120228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sound is inextricably linked to the human senses and is therefore directly related to the general health of the individual. The aim of the present study is to collect data on the effect of two dimensions of sound, music, and noise from an emotional and functional point of view in the dental office and to perform a thorough review of the relevant literature. We collected articles from the databases PubMed and Google Scholar through keywords that were related to noise and music in healthcare. Important information was also extracted from articles on the web and official websites. Screening of the relevant literature was performed according to accuracy and reliability of the methodology tested. A total of 261 articles were associated to sound and music in healthcare. Ninety-six of them were the most well documented and were thus included in our article. Most of the articles associate noise with negative emotions and a negative impact on performance, while music is associated with positive emotions ranging from emotional state to therapeutic approaches. Few results were found regarding ways to reduce noise in a health facility. If there is a difficulty to find effective methods of reducing the daily noise-inducing sounds in the dental office, we must focus on ways to incorporate music into it as a means of relaxation and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Antoniadou
- Dental School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +30-69-4434-2546
| | - Panagiota Tziovara
- Dental School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
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Abstract
In a patient's recovery process, restful sleep is crucial. Although the essential role of sleep in healing has long been recognized, excessive noise in hospital environments remains a persistent and pervasive problem. For hospitalized patients, environmental noise can result in sleep deprivation and adverse health outcomes; not surprisingly, hospital noise ranks as a major patient complaint. At a small suburban community hospital, patients responding to a quiet-at-night question in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey gave the hospital's telemetry unit the lowest possible score: 1 out of 5 points. In response, the unit's quality improvement team, coordinated by a clinical nurse leader, introduced a holistic "sleep menu" intervention. The multicomponent intervention subsequently improved patients' care experience and staff engagement. The percentage of patients who self-reported five or more hours of uninterrupted sleep rose from 31% at baseline to 80% during the intervention. This improvement was sustained over the three-month intervention period and led to a quiet-at-night HCAHPS score of 4. The sleep menu initiative resulted in substantial benefits that optimized both patient and organizational outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Margol-Gromada
- Hearing Sciences, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Magdalena Sereda
- Hearing Sciences, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham, UK
| | - David M. Baguley
- Hearing Sciences, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham, UK
- Nottingham Audiology Services, Nottingham University NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK
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Wallis R, Harris E, Lee H, Davies W, Astin F. Environmental noise levels in hospital settings: A rapid review of measurement techniques and implementation in hospital settings. Noise Health 2019; 21:200-216. [PMID: 32820743 PMCID: PMC7650850 DOI: 10.4103/nah.nah_19_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Revised: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
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 three 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory Wallis
- Applied Psychoacoustics Laboratory, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, HD1 3DH, United Kingdom
| | - Emma Harris
- Centre for Applied Research in Health, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, HD1 3DH, United Kingdom
| | - Hyunkook Lee
- Applied Psychoacoustics Laboratory, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, HD1 3DH, United Kingdom
| | - William Davies
- Acoustics Research Centre, University of Salford, Salford, M5 4WT, United Kingdom
| | - Felicity Astin
- Centre for Applied Research in Health, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, HD1 3DH, United Kingdom
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Badia P, Hickey V, Flesch L, Byerly M, Sensibaugh C, Potts K, Michel C, Drozd A, Curd F, Crosby L, Beebe D, Davies SM, Dandoy CE. Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Nighttime Noise in a Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Unit. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2019; 25:1844-50. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2019.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Semanjski I, Gautama S. A Collaborative Stakeholder Decision-Making Approach for Sustainable Urban Logistics. Sustainability 2019; 11:234. [DOI: 10.3390/su11010234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Cities strongly rely on efficient urban logistics to ensure their attractiveness, quality of life, and economic development. In the same time, they strive to ensure livable and safe environments around its road network, where the increased presence of light and heavy goods vehicles raises questions of regarding safety and environmental impacts. Recent literature has well-recognized the need to consider different stakeholders’ perspectives on these issues, in order to achieve desired outcomes. In this paper, we introduce a collaborative stakeholders’ decision-making approach for sustainable urban logistics, and demonstrate its applicability on a real-life example. The suggested approach extends existing route planning approaches by considering route sustainability as a part of an arc’s traversal cost. The integration of route sustainability is based on the adoption of a multi-criterial decision-making approach, with the possibility of including different stakeholders’ points of view, and evaluating the sustainability cost concerning the route’s spatial context. To demonstrate the applicability of the suggested approach, we extract the route sustainability cost from the traffic sign database, and implement the findings on a real-life example. Furthermore, the suggested approach exhibits a high level of transferability to various local contexts, where local stakeholders might have a different view on the route sustainability than is the case in our example.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Linsey M. Steege
- School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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McGough NNH, Keane T, Uppal A, Dumlao M, Rutherford W, Kellogg K, Ward E, Kendal C, Fields W. Noise Reduction in Progressive Care Units. J Nurs Care Qual 2018; 33:166-72. [PMID: 28658188 DOI: 10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Uncontrolled noise in the hospital setting can have a negative physiological and psychological impact on patients and nurses. To reduce unit noise levels and create a quiet patient and nurse experience, an evidence-based practice project was conducted in 4 progressive care units in a community hospital. The Quiet Time Bundle implementation improved patient satisfaction and patient and nurse perceptions of noise even though the decrease in noise levels may not be discernible.
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Iyendo TO. Sound as a supportive design intervention for improving health care experience in the clinical ecosystem: A qualitative study. Complement Ther Clin Pract 2017; 29:58-96. [PMID: 29122270 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2017.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Most prior hospital noise research usually deals with sound in its noise facet and is based merely on sound level abatement, rather than as an informative or orientational element. This paper stimulates scientific research into the effect of sound interventions on physical and mental health care in the clinical environment. METHODS Data sources comprised relevant World Health Organization guidelines and the results of a literature search of ISI Web of Science, ProQuest Central, MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, JSTOR and Google Scholar. RESULTS Noise induces stress and impedes the recovery process. Pleasant natural sound intervention which includes singing birds, gentle wind and ocean waves, revealed benefits that contribute to perceived restoration of attention and stress recovery in patients and staff. CONCLUSIONS Clinicians should consider pleasant natural sounds perception as a low-risk non-pharmacological and unobtrusive intervention that should be implemented in their routine care for speedier recovery of patients undergoing medical procedures.
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