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Characterising the ambient sound environment for infants in intensive care wards
Helen Shoemark1,2,3, Edward Harcourt4, Sarah J Arnup1
1Murdoch Childrens Research Institute.
Insights
The new hospital
Area of Science:
- Healthcare acoustics
- Pediatric and neonatal intensive care environments
- Hospital design and noise pollution
Background:
- The sound environment in Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Units (NICUs and PICUs) is critical for patient outcomes.
- Previous studies indicate that noise levels in NICUs and PICUs often exceed recommended standards.
- Understanding the impact of hospital design on ambient sound is essential for improving patient care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize ambient sound levels in pediatric and neonatal intensive care units.
- To compare sound levels in old versus new hospital facilities.
- To assess compliance with current sound level standards.
Main Methods:
- Conducted 24-h sound surveys in NICUs, PICUs, and Special Care Nurseries of old and new hospitals.
- Collected 80 data periods to characterize ambient sound.
- Analyzed proportion of time meeting benchmarks, mean sound levels, and noise event frequency and duration.
Main Results:
- None of the old hospital NICU/PICU periods met ongoing ambient sound benchmarks.
- Only 5 of 22 new hospital NICU/PICU periods met recommended levels.
- A significant reduction in noise events (>65 dBA) was observed in the new hospital.
Conclusions:
- The background sound environment in the new hospital is similar to the old hospital.
- A reduction in the number of noise events may indicate an improvement in the new facility.
- Further research is needed to fully understand the acoustic differences and their clinical impact.
Aim:
The purpose of this study is to characterise ambient sound levels of paediatric and neonatal intensive care units in an old and new hospital according to current standards.
Methods:
The sound environment was surveyed for 24-h data collection periods (n = 80) in the Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Units (NICUs and PICUs) and Special Care Nursery of the old and new Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. The ambient sound environment was characterised as the proportion of time the ongoing ambient sound met standard benchmarks, the mean 5-s sound levels and the number and duration of noise events.
Results:
In the old hospital, none of the data collection periods in the NICU and PICU met the standard benchmark for ongoing ambient sound, while only 5 of the 22 data collection periods in the new hospital met the recommended level. There was no change in proportion of time at recommended Leq between the old and the new Special Care Nursery. There was strong evidence for a difference in the mean number of events >65 dBA (Lmax ) in the old and new hospital (rate ratio = 0.82, 95% confidence interval: 0.73 to 0.92, P = 0.001). The NICU and PICU were above 50 dBA in 75% of all data collection periods, with ventilatory equipment associated with higher ongoing ambient sound levels.
Conclusions:
The ongoing ambient sound suggests that the background sound environment of the new hospital is not different to the old hospital. However, there may be a reduction in the number of noise events.
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