Same-Handed and Mirrored Unit Configurations: Is There a Difference in Patient and Nurse Outcomes?
2011
Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 41
Pages 273-279
Author(s): Watkins, N., Kennedy, M., Ducharme, M., Padula, C.
Awareness of the impact of healthcare facility design on a number of diverse patient and staff outcomes is growing. From patient recovery time, satisfaction, and comfort to nursing staff efficiency, error rates, and distraction, varied outcomes are being linked to environmental conditions and design attributes in hospital settings. Inpatient unit configurations, specifically same-handed configurations vs. mirrored units, are a particular area of interest for researchers, with implications for practitioners and patient care. Same-handed configurations, which standardize all rooms within a unit such that they are all identical, may allow for reduced noise as headwalls are no longer shared.
Added February 2014
Efficacy of controlling night-time noise and activities to improve patients’ sleep quality in a surgical intensive care unit
2011
Journal of Clinical Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 3-4
Volume 20
Pages 396–407
Author(s): Li, S., Wang, T., Wu, S. F. V., Liang, S., Tung, H.
In the intensive care unit (ICU), noises, continuous lighting, and constant care-related activities disrupt patients’ sleep. Patients also may struggle to sleep because they are in an unfamiliar environment, feel isolated, are in pain, have various tubes or other equipment to deal with, as well as just general treatment activities.
Added January 2014
Characteristics of the Nighttime Hospital Bedside Care Environment (Sound, Light, and Temperature) for Children With Cancer
2011
Cancer Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 34
Pages 176-185
Author(s): Linder, L. A., Christian, B. J.
Children with cancer have a lot to cope with aside from their disease and its treatment. Often, they are in unfamiliar healthcare environments that may be too noisy or bright to facilitate uninterrupted sleep. However, not much is known about the sound and light levels in either pediatric or adult inpatient oncology units.
Added January 2014
Quiet Time in a Pediatric Medical/Surgical Setting
2013
Journal of Pediatric Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 28
Pages 400-405
Author(s): Cranmer, K., Davenport, L.
Despite being places for rest and healing, hospitals often are noisy places. These rising sound levels can be harmful and stressful for patients, caregivers, and staff, as well as contribute to an unsatisfactory environment in which to work and heal. In response, some intensive care units now have quiet time to reduce noise levels. However, little is known about the benefits of quiet time in a pediatric medical–surgical setting.
Added January 2014
Sound Spectral Analysis in the Intensive Care Nursery: Measuring High-Frequency Sound
2008
Journal of Pediatric Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 23
Pages 317-324
Author(s): Kellam, B., Bhatia, J.
Little is known about how high-frequency, prolonged intense noise effects auditory development in preterm infants. However, some research indicates that premature infants who are exposed to persistent noise might experience some interference with their development of frequency discrimination and problems with sound-pattern recognition.
Added January 2014
Falls Aren't Us: State of the Science
2009
Critical Care Nursing Quarterly
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 32
Pages 116-127
Author(s): Cozart, H. T., Cesario, S. K.
Falls among the elderly can cause serious injury and sometimes even be fatal. However, in healthcare settings, many of these accidents can be avoided with fall-prevention interventions. The ninth goal of The Joint Commission is environmental intervention and addresses safety features such as patients’ introduction to hospital surroundings, appropriate lighting and noise reduction, call alarms, as well as reachable and available grab rails.
Added January 2014
Noise Levels in a General Surgical Ward: a descriptive study
2005
Journal of Clinical Nursing
Journal Article
Author(s): Christensen, M.
The noise levels in many UK hospitals exceed those recommended by the World Health Organization, yet are so prevalent that healthcare providers tend to think of them as just part of the working environment. However, current ward-based research is dated, perhaps indicating that the control of noise in these areas is perceived as insurmountable.
Added January 2014
Unpleasant and pleasant memories of intensive care in adult mechanically ventilated patients—Findings from 250 interviews
2011
Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 27
Pages 76-84
Author(s): Samuelson, K. A. M.
Patients’ perspectives on the intensive care experience are essential to improve patients’ comfort and well-being during and after a stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). This research approach was unique as the author used data from a large number of patient interviews (n = 250) and a validated qualitative content analysis technique to create themes from the data. One of the themes included—environmental distress—described aspects of the physical environment that patients remembered as causing distress.
Added January 2014
Neonatal Response to Control of Noise Inside the Incubator
2001
Pediatric Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 27
Pages 600-606
Author(s): Johnson, A. N.
Premature infants are at risk for long-term neurologic, cognitive, and behavioral problems. Therefore, supporting these medically fragile infants as they adapt to life outside the womb by decreasing possible environmental stressors, such as noise, is important. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee of Environmental Hazards recommends that neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) sound levels below 45 dB. Yet these babies are often in incubators, which are associated with higher sound levels from the equipment and surrounding environment.
Added January 2014
Nighttime Noise Issues That Interrupt Sleep After Cardiac Surgery
2011
Journal of Nursing Care Quality
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 26
Pages 88–95
Author(s): Spence, J., Murray, T., Tang, A. S., Butler, R. S., Albert, N. M.
Hospital unit environments have excessive environmental ambient sound levels. In cardiac-surgical, general, and neonatal intensive care units, sound levels were commonly more than 50 dBand spiked to 80 dB and 100.9 dB. Common sounds associated with routine care in a postsurgical intermediate care unit have a decibel level in the range of heavy truck traffic (about 80 dB). Noise influences the physiological state of sleep. It is important to reduce nurse-generated and environmental noise when patients are trying to sleep.
Added January 2014
Using Rapid Assessment to Evaluate Noise on an In-Patient Unit
2009
Journal of Nursing Care Quality
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 24
Pages 27-32
Author(s): Deitrick, L.M., Kennedy, P., Cyriax, C., Davies-Hathen, N.
Research shows that many hospitals are noisy from a variety of sources: people, environment, and machines. Further, this excessive noise can have negative effects on patients and staff including lost sleep, higher blood pressure, lower overall patient satisfaction, increased readmission rates, and increased employee stress levels.
Added January 2014
The sound environment in an ICU patient room—a content analysis of sound levels and patient experiences
2012
Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
Journal Article
Author(s): Johansson, L., Bergbom, I., Wayeb, K. P., Ryherd, E., Lindahl, B.
This study was a prestudy for the planning and design of a larger one, where the aim is to investigate the relationship between sound (objective and subjective) and adult intensive care unit (ICU) delirium and/or other factors. It used sound measurement, behavioral observation, and interview methods. The results provide a good list of sound/noise impact on patients and subsequent ICU design considerations.
Added January 2014
Can modifications to the bedroom environment improve the sleep of new parents? Two randomized controlled trials
2011
Research in Nursing & Health
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 34
Pages 7-19
Author(s): Lee, K. A., Gay, C. L.
One of the major challenges of new parenthood is adjusting to the sleep disruption that comes with caring for a newborn. Parents-to-be know that caring for an infant with random sleep and feeding patterns will mean sleep deprivation and fatigue, but few are prepared for the actual physical and emotional demands.
Added January 2014
Noise in the Operating Room—What Do We Know? A Review of the Literature
2010
Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 25
Pages 380-386
Author(s): Hasfeldt, D., Laerkner, E., Birkelund, R.
Noise is a general stressor and should be avoided in the operating room (OR). However, over the last 10 years, while the focus has been on preventing air pollution and maximizing sterility in the OR, very little attention has gone toward preventing noise pollution. Meanwhile, there is more and more noisy technological equipment in the OR, and it can be assumed that problems with noise in the OR have not decreased.
Added January 2014
Patients’ Interactions in an Intensive Care Unit and Their Memories of Intensive Care: A Mixed Method Study
2013
Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
Journal Article
Author(s): Meriläinen, M, Kyngäs, H, Ala-Kokko, T
The various equipment and devices in the intensive care unit (ICU) make it the most technologically sophisticated environment in any hospital. But, from a patient’s perspective, being connected to various devices; experiencing unsettling noises, smells, lighting, and uncomfortable temperatures; and enduring the perceptions of other patients as care objects can cause both physical and mental stress.
Added January 2014
Sleep and the sleep environment of older adults in acute care settings
2008
Journal of Gerontological Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 34
Pages 15-21
Author(s): Missildine, K.
Not every patient has difficulty sleeping in an acute care setting, but it is common. Environmental factors, such as light and noise, can interfere with sleep, further compromising an existing sleep problem. Environmental light, considered a primary cue for setting the internal clock and maintaining normal day/night rhythms, is often different in acute care settings compared to home and may affect sleep.
Added January 2014
Sleep promotion in the intensive care unit—A survey of nurses’ interventions
2011
Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 27
Pages 138-142
Author(s): Eliassen, K. M., Hopstock, L. A.
For patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), sleep deprivation could lead to a variety of physical and psychological issues (Friese, 2008) that impact the healing process and increase morbidity and mortality. There are many factors that contribute to poor sleep. This small-scale study investigates the perceptions of the sleep-promoting interventions that ICU nurses provide.
Added January 2014
Environmental Noise Sources and Interventions to Minimize Them: A Tale of Two Hospitals
2008
Journal of Nursing Care Quality
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 23
Pages 216-224
Author(s): Dube, J. A. O., Barth, M. M., Cmiel, C. A. , Cutshall, S. M. , Olson, S. M., Sulla, S. J., Nesbitt, J. C. , Sobczak, S. C., Holland, D. E.
Delivering patient care in a hospital is noisy. Yet research shows that noise interferes with the healing process and can disrupt the patient’s experience. Higher noise levels are linked to stress reaction; sleep disturbance; and increased heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension, creating an overarching issue that touches multiple disciplines and departments in the hospital.
Added January 2014
Does music influence stress in mechanically ventilated patients?
2013
Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 29
Pages 121-127
Author(s): Chlan, L.L., Engeland, W.C., Savik, K.
Many critically ill patients find that mechanical ventilator is stressful. Often, healthcare providers manage that stress with sedatives. However, as with most medications, the drugs may have side effects. For this and other reasons, many healthcare professionals prefer to try nonpharmacologic interventions first before administering sedative agents.
Added December 2013
Children’s Experience Regarding the Quality of Their Hospital Stay: The Development of an Assessment Questionnaire for Children
2011
Journal of Nursing Care Quality
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 26
Pages 364-370
Author(s): Chappuis, M., Vannay-Bouchiche, C.., Fluckiger, M., Monnier, M., Cathieni, F., Terra, R., Piot-Ziegler, C.
Pediatric care quality in Switzerland is evaluated mainly through the parents’ opinion. There are no assessment questionnaires for children. However, research indicates that often, what the parents think does not match their children’s evaluation of the quality of care and that they are often low to moderately correlated. This study examines on the development of a questionnaire assessing the satisfaction of children with their hospital stay.
Added December 2013
