Ethics code: 0000
Roohalah Hajizadeh 
, Fidan Shabani , Sara Adimi , Amirhossein Montazeri , Mehrana Esnaasharieh , Mohsen Mohammadi * , Reza Kiani
, Fidan Shabani , Sara Adimi , Amirhossein Montazeri , Mehrana Esnaasharieh , Mohsen Mohammadi * , Reza Kiani
Shahid Rajaei Cardiovascular Center, Shahid Rajaei Cardiovascular Research Center, Shahid Rajaei Cardiovascular Educational, Research, and Medical Institute, Tehran, Iran. , mo7sen0123@gmail.com
Abstract: (21 Views)
Background and aims: Cardiac intensive care units contain multiple, variable sound sources. Assessing spatial and temporal sound patterns may help identify priorities for noise control. This study evaluated environmental sound pressure levels across cardiac intensive care units by work shift and location. Patient sleep quality and its association with environmental sound were examined as secondary objectives.
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in five cardiac intensive care units (A, B, C, F, and G). A-weighted sound pressure levels were measured at 135 fixed stations during morning, afternoon, and night shifts using a TES-1358 sound level meter. Sleep was assessed in 57 patients using the Persian-language Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire; the study-specific composite score was calculated as the mean of five sleep items and the perceived nighttime noise item. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 26 using t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation analysis. Statistical significance was set at 0.05. The sound measurements characterized the unit environment rather than individual staff exposure.
Results: Mean A-weighted sound pressure levels across unit–shift combinations ranged from 48.54 to 54.78 dBA. In all five units, morning and afternoon mean levels were descriptively higher than night-shift levels. Using the study’s operational classification of the six-item composite score, 54.4% of patients were classified as good and 28.1% as poor or very poor. Nighttime sound levels at patients’ bed locations were not significantly correlated with the composite score (r = 0.098; P = 0.467).
Conclusion: Environmental sound assessment in cardiac intensive care units can support the identification of locations requiring further source investigation and control planning. Fixed-station measurements are insufficient to determine individual staff exposure. The cross-sectional design also precludes causal inference regarding the relationship between environmental sound and patient sleep quality.
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in five cardiac intensive care units (A, B, C, F, and G). A-weighted sound pressure levels were measured at 135 fixed stations during morning, afternoon, and night shifts using a TES-1358 sound level meter. Sleep was assessed in 57 patients using the Persian-language Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire; the study-specific composite score was calculated as the mean of five sleep items and the perceived nighttime noise item. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 26 using t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation analysis. Statistical significance was set at 0.05. The sound measurements characterized the unit environment rather than individual staff exposure.
Results: Mean A-weighted sound pressure levels across unit–shift combinations ranged from 48.54 to 54.78 dBA. In all five units, morning and afternoon mean levels were descriptively higher than night-shift levels. Using the study’s operational classification of the six-item composite score, 54.4% of patients were classified as good and 28.1% as poor or very poor. Nighttime sound levels at patients’ bed locations were not significantly correlated with the composite score (r = 0.098; P = 0.467).
Conclusion: Environmental sound assessment in cardiac intensive care units can support the identification of locations requiring further source investigation and control planning. Fixed-station measurements are insufficient to determine individual staff exposure. The cross-sectional design also precludes causal inference regarding the relationship between environmental sound and patient sleep quality.
Article number: 26
Keywords: Workplace Noise, Sound Pressure Level, Coronary Care Units, Work Shifts, Noise Control, Sleep Quality
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