Are emergency care departments too noisy?
Background: Noise pollution is a serious issue that faces healthcare centers. It is associated with detrimental effects on both the patient's and the healthcare provider's mental and physical well-being. It could also negatively impact the physician's decision-making. Aim:...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Discover STM Publishing Ltd
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://sjemed.com/?mno=148433 |
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| author | Ghadah Alghbewi Faten Khayat Nejood Alsheikh Abdulmajid Asiri Mohammad Alsaif Reem Alsalamah Majid Alsalamah |
| author_facet | Ghadah Alghbewi Faten Khayat Nejood Alsheikh Abdulmajid Asiri Mohammad Alsaif Reem Alsalamah Majid Alsalamah |
| author_sort | Ghadah Alghbewi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Noise pollution is a serious issue that faces healthcare centers. It is associated with detrimental effects on both the patient's and the healthcare provider's mental and physical well-being. It could also negatively impact the physician's decision-making.
Aim: There are no similar studies conducted in the past 5 years in Saudi Arabia. This is the first study to measure noise levels and deem them pollutants in an emergency care center in Saudi Arabia.
Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary care hospital to assess the level of noise pollution. Noise levels were evaluated in the ED by using a calibrated decibel meter device in three selected units including resuscitation, acute care, and pediatrics unit. Noise levels were only measured during weekdays. In each unit, readings were obtained over 24 hours.
Results: Over 24 hours, measurements of all assessed units showed that noise levels exceeded WHO guidelines for hospitals, which recommend sound levels below 40 decibels (dB). Among all clinical areas, the pediatric unit exhibited the highest noise spike (97.3 dB), followed by the resuscitation unit (88.5 dB), and the acute care unit (87.3 dB).
Conclusion: Noise levels were high in all the assessed units, which places the patient's well-being and recovery at risk. Moreover, high noise levels could contribute to adverse outcomes for the healthcare provider. More studies should focus on assessing the noise levels in other departments and the efficacy of different intervention methods. [SJEMed 2023; 4(2.000): 087-091] |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4bf304a8cfdb4178bb8150660a202f9c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1658-8487 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Discover STM Publishing Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-4bf304a8cfdb4178bb8150660a202f9c2025-08-20T03:40:25ZengDiscover STM Publishing LtdSaudi Journal of Emergency Medicine1658-84872023-03-014208709110.24911/SJEMed/72-1680721527148433Are emergency care departments too noisy?Ghadah Alghbewi0Faten Khayat1Nejood Alsheikh2Abdulmajid Asiri3Mohammad Alsaif4Reem Alsalamah5Majid AlsalamahCollege of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Professor of Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Background: Noise pollution is a serious issue that faces healthcare centers. It is associated with detrimental effects on both the patient's and the healthcare provider's mental and physical well-being. It could also negatively impact the physician's decision-making. Aim: There are no similar studies conducted in the past 5 years in Saudi Arabia. This is the first study to measure noise levels and deem them pollutants in an emergency care center in Saudi Arabia. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary care hospital to assess the level of noise pollution. Noise levels were evaluated in the ED by using a calibrated decibel meter device in three selected units including resuscitation, acute care, and pediatrics unit. Noise levels were only measured during weekdays. In each unit, readings were obtained over 24 hours. Results: Over 24 hours, measurements of all assessed units showed that noise levels exceeded WHO guidelines for hospitals, which recommend sound levels below 40 decibels (dB). Among all clinical areas, the pediatric unit exhibited the highest noise spike (97.3 dB), followed by the resuscitation unit (88.5 dB), and the acute care unit (87.3 dB). Conclusion: Noise levels were high in all the assessed units, which places the patient's well-being and recovery at risk. Moreover, high noise levels could contribute to adverse outcomes for the healthcare provider. More studies should focus on assessing the noise levels in other departments and the efficacy of different intervention methods. [SJEMed 2023; 4(2.000): 087-091]https://sjemed.com/?mno=148433hospitalemergency carenoisepollutionsoundnoise controlnoise prevention |
| spellingShingle | Ghadah Alghbewi Faten Khayat Nejood Alsheikh Abdulmajid Asiri Mohammad Alsaif Reem Alsalamah Majid Alsalamah Are emergency care departments too noisy? Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine hospital emergency care noise pollution sound noise control noise prevention |
| title | Are emergency care departments too noisy? |
| title_full | Are emergency care departments too noisy? |
| title_fullStr | Are emergency care departments too noisy? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are emergency care departments too noisy? |
| title_short | Are emergency care departments too noisy? |
| title_sort | are emergency care departments too noisy |
| topic | hospital emergency care noise pollution sound noise control noise prevention |
| url | https://sjemed.com/?mno=148433 |
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