The overlooked burden: associations between high-noise environments and scrub nurse wellbeing and performance

Operating room noise is a significant occupational hazard affecting healthcare professionals, but the specific consequences for scrub nurses have been largely overlooked. This study aimed to investigate the effects of operating room noise on scrub nurses across three key domains: psychological status, physiological and physical symptoms, and perceived surgical performance.

A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 94 scrub nurses working in high-noise (orthopedic) and low-noise (ophthalmic) operating rooms. Participants completed validated psychological scales, underwent standardized physiological measurements, and reported physical symptoms and perceived noise impact on surgical performance. Between-group comparisons were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 (P < 0.05).

Psychologically, the high-noise group reported significantly higher levels of anxiety, sleep disturbances, specific burnout dimensions (exhaustion and cynicism), and perceived stress compared to the low-noise group (P < 0.05). Physiologically, nurses in the high-noise environment exhibited elevated resting heart rates (RHR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP). Furthermore, they reported a significantly higher prevalence of noise-related physical symptoms, including tinnitus and palpitations, rather than clinically diagnosed conditions. Regarding performance, the high-noise group perceived a substantially greater negative impact of noise on their task efficiency, surgical concentration, and intraoperative communication.

The findings suggest that prolonged exposure to high-noise environments is associated with elevated psychological distress, physiological stress responses, and frequent somatic complaints among scrub nurses. Additionally, high noise levels are perceived to negatively interfere with surgical performance. Longitudinal studies and targeted noise-reduction interventions are recommended to safeguard occupational health and patient safety.