Author(s)

Tomoko Shimoda¹, Rei Nishijima², Sadako Yoshimura¹

¹Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
²Department of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

A lot of sound can be heard in a hospital. The Ministry of Environment recommends that noise be kept below 50 dBA during the day and below 40 dBA at night to maintain a calm environment inside a medical facility. However, the noise in general wards typically exceeds these standards; therefore, it is necessary to adjust these sounds to foster patients’ recuperation. We examined whether the noise generated by nurses in a simulated ward changes with walking speed and the presence or absence of luggage. Sounds generated by nurses include footsteps and pass-by sound from objects (e.g., wagon, stretchers, wheelchairs, bedside tables, overhead tables, beds, IV poles.). Walking speed was classified into three types: slow (0.5 m/s), normal (1 m/s), and fast (2 m/s). Sound (dBA) was measured by measuring the pass-by sound generated when moving in a straight distance (four meters) in the corridor of a simulated ward. Objects were also compared for their pass-by sound generated with and without a load. Results revealed that normal and fast walking speeds generated louder sounds than did the slow speed (the volume of slow, normal, and fast speeds were 37.0 dBA, 39.3 dBA, and 38.7 dBA, respectively). The pass-by sound of objects increased in volume in proportion to nurses’ walking speed. The pass-by sound of wagons and stretchers was significantly lower when they had (vs. did not have) a load; however, the reverse was true for wheelchairs carrying patient dummies. The sound of footsteps did not change per walking speed. Decreasing walking speed may thus lead to noise modification. Nurses’ awareness of adjusting their walking speed per object use may prevent noise pollution. This study was conducted to obtain basic data regarding the wards’ sound environment. Future studies should consider the occurrence of the sound in clinical settings.

Hospital Environment, Noise, Nursing, Volume, Walking Speed

Shimoda, T. , Nishijima, R. and Yoshimura, S. (2020) Examining Modifications of the Noise Generated by Nurses’ Footsteps and the Use of Pass-By Objects: A Pilot Study. Open Journal of Nursing, 10, 184-193. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2020.102012.