Volume 73, Issue 5 (August 2015)
Tehran Univ Med J 2015, 73(5): 384-390 |
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Azadi N A, Sadeghi S, Saghi M H. Evaluation of noise level at intensive care units in selected hospitals of Sanandaj. Tehran Univ Med J 2015; 73 (5) :384-390
URL: http://tumj.tums.ac.ir/article-1-6788-en.html
URL: http://tumj.tums.ac.ir/article-1-6788-en.html
1- Kurdistan Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Medical School, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Medical School, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
2- Student Research Committee, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran. ,shahram.snna@yahoo.com
3- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
2- Student Research Committee, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran. ,
3- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract: (4760 Views)
Background: One of the critical unit in each hospital is intensive care unit (ICU). The United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends to control the noise level of this unit in order to not exceed 45 decibels (dBA) during the day and 35 dBA at night. In this study, our goal was to evaluate the noise level at adult and neonatal ICUs at some Sanandaj’s hospitals, Iran.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from May 4th to June 4th 2012 in adult and neonatal intensive care units at three major hospitals in Sanandaj (Besat, Tohid and Tamin-Ejtemaei). In order to assess the noise level properly, measurements obtained during the days and nights. At a given day, a unit was selected randomly and measurement of sound levels obtained successively within two-hour periods. The noise levels were measured in decibels using a sound level meter (SLM). This process took four weeks to be completed (one week per unit). In the end of study, the total of 336 records of noise levels were obtained. Descriptive analysis as well as fitting a mixed effect models were used to interpret collected observations. All statistical analysis performed using R developed by R core team.
Results: The preliminary analysis of observations showed that mean level of noise varied from 65 to 71 dBA among ICUs under study. Noise levels during the day were slightly higher than that of were observed during the night. Descriptive analysis of observations showed no major differences between the noise levels over the time and between the days/nights. Fitting a mixed-effects model showed significant differences of the noise levels between ICUs (P< 0.001).
Conclusion: We found the noise levels were always above the EPA thresholds at all three hospitals both during the day and night. It is recommended to train hospital officials and staffs for keeping noise levels to an acceptable level.
Type of Study: Original Article |
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