A descriptive study of noise in the neonatal intensive care unit: Ambient levels and perceptions of contributing factors

Advances in Neonatal Care

Volumn 8, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 165-175

  Darcy, Ashley E ^a,b   Hancock, Lauren E ^b   Ware, Emily J ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA   (United States)

^b HOSPITAL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA   (United States)

^c CHILDREN'S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER   (United States)

Author keywords

Acoustic environment; Environmental standards; Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; Noise; Sound

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; CLINICAL TRIAL; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT; HUMAN; INDUSTRIAL NOISE; INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION; MEDICAL STAFF; MULTICENTER STUDY; NEWBORN; NEWBORN INTENSIVE CARE; NURSING STAFF; ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT; PATIENT; PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT; PILOT STUDY; QUESTIONNAIRE; TELEPHONE;

COMMUNICATION; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES, HOSPITAL; HUMANS; INFANT, NEWBORN; INTENSIVE CARE UNITS, NEONATAL; MEDICAL STAFF, HOSPITAL; NOISE, OCCUPATIONAL; NURSING STAFF, HOSPITAL; PERSONNEL STAFFING AND SCHEDULING; PILOT PROJECTS; QUESTIONNAIRES; TELEPHONE; VISITORS TO PATIENTS;

EID: 54049131267     PISSN: 15360903     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1097/01.ANC.0000324341.24841.6e     Document Type: Article

References (34)

1. Hall JW. Background science: development of the ear and hearing. J Perinatol. 2000;20:S12-S20.
2. Philbin M, Klass P. The full-term and premature newborn: hearing and behavioral responses to sound in full term newborns. J Perinatol. 2000;20:S68-S76.
3. Etzel RA, Balk SJ. Noise: a hazard for the fetus and newborn. Pediatrics. 1997;100(4):724-726.
4. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Noise Abatement and Control. Information on levels of environmental noise requisite to protect public health and welfare with an adequate margin of safety. http://www.epa.gov/history/ topics/noise/01.html. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office; 1974. Accessed November 29, 2007.
5. Graven SN. The full-term and premature newborn: sound and the developing infant in the NICU, conclusions and recommendations for care. J Perinatal. 2000;20:S88-S93.
6. Consensus Committee to Establish Recommended Standards for Newborn ICU Design. Recommended Standards of Newborn ICU Design; http://www.nd.edu/~nicudes/ stan%2023.html. Accessed October 8, 2006.
7. Goldson E. Nurturing the Premature Infant: Developmental Interventions in the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery. New York: Oxford University Press; 1999.
8. Kreuger C, Wall S, Parker L, Nealis R. Elevated sound levels within a busy NICU. Neonatal Netw. 2005;24(6):33-37.
9. Elander G, Hellstrom G. Reduction of noise levels in intensive care units for infants: evaluation of an intervention program. Heart Lung. 1995;24: 376-379.
10. Zahr L, Balian S. Responses of premature infants to routine nursing interventions and noise in the NICU. Nurs Res. 1995;44:179-185.
11. Blackburn S. Environmental impact of the NICU on developmental outcomes. J Pediatr Nurs. 1998;13:279-289.
12. Walsh-Sukys M, Reitenbach A, Hudson-Barr D, DePompei P. Reducing light and sound in the neonatal intensive care unit: an evaluation of patient safety, staff satisfaction, and costs. J Perinatol. 2001;21:230-235.
13. Johnson AN. Neonatal response to control of noise inside the incubator. Pediatr Nurs. 2001;27:600-605.
14. Long JG, Lucey JF, Philip AGS. Noise and hypoxemia in the intensive care nursery. Pediatrics. 1980;65(1):143-145.
15. Bremmer P, Byers J, Kiehl E. Noise and the premature infant: physiological effects and practice implications. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2003;32:447-454.
16. Byers J, Waugh W, Lowman L. Sound level exposure of high-risk infants in different environmental conditions. Neonatal Netw. 2006;25(1):25-32.
17. Philbin M, Gray L. Changing levels of quiet in an intensive care nursery. J Perinatol. 2002;22:455-460.
18. Williams A, van Drongelen W, Lasky R. Noise in contemporary neonatal intensive care. J Acoust Soc Am. 2007;121:2681-2690.
19. Brandon D, Ryan D, Barnes A. Effect of environmental changes on noise in the NICU. Neonatal Netw. 2007;26:213-218.
20. Evans J, Philbin M. Facility and operations planning for quiet hospital nurseries. J Perinatol. 2000;20:S105-S112.
21. Walsh W, McCullough K, White R. Room for improvement: nurses' perceptions of providing care in a single room newborn intensive care setting. Adv Neonatal Care. 2006;6:261-270.
22. Levy G, Woolston D, Browne J. Mean noise amounts in level II vs level II neonatal intensive care units. Neonatal Netw. 2003;22(2):33-38.
23. Philbin M. The influence of auditory experience on the behavior of preterm new- borns. J Perinatol. 2000;20:S76-S86.
24. Gray L, Philbin M. Levels of quiet in an intensive care nursery. J Acoust Soc Am. 1991;90:2321.
25. Zahr L. Premature infant responses to noise reduction by earmuffs: effects on behavioral and physiological measures. J Perinatol. 1995;15:448-455.
26. Morris B, Philbin M, Bose C. The full term and premature newborn. J Perinatol. 2000;20:S54-S59.
27. Gray L, Philbin MK. Measuring sound in hospital nurseries. J Perinatol. 2000;20:S99-S103.
28. Anderson DM, Keith J, Novak PD, Elliot MA. Medical, Nursing and Allied Health Dictionary. 6th ed. St Louis, MO: Mosby; 2002.
29. Cusson R. Research tutorial #1: Why use qualitative descriptive research? Adv Neonatal Care. 2006;6:334.
30. Sandelowski M. Focus on research methods. Whatever happened to qualitative description? Res Nurs Health. 2000;23:334-340.
31. Sandelowski M. Sample size in qualitative research. Res Nurs Health. 1995;18(2):179-183.
32. Lobiondo-Wood G, Haber J. Nursing Research: Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence Based Practice. 6th ed. St Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2005.
33. Wolcott HF. Transforming Qualitative Date: Description, Analysis, and Interpretation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 1994.
34. Chang YJ, Pan YP, Lin YJ, Chang YZ, Lin CH. A noise-sensor light alarm reduces noise in the newborn intensive care unit. Am J Perinatol. 2006; 23:265-1217