Zeitschrift für Forschung und Entwicklung im Bereich Gesundheitserziehung

Perception of Patient and Visitors on Noise Pollution in Hospitals and Need of the Real Time Noise Monitoring System

Abstract

Jagruti Patil

Background: Various studies have found that noise is rising in hospitals since the 1960's and it’s consistent. Hospitals should have the quietest environment. WHO rules on Community noise expresses that noise in the emergency clinics during night ought not to surpass 40 dinside. And during the day and evening the guideline value indoors is 30 dB (A). Noise has many negative impacts physiologically and psychologically not only on patients but on staff too. Still many hospitals have noise more than recommended limits. It has found that patients recover faster in good acoustic conditions as compared to bad acoustic conditions. And it can help to increase the HCAHPS score of the hospitals. To reduce the noise there is need to adopt various technologies which can monitor the noise and reduce it.

Methodology: To understand the perception of patients and visitors on noise in the hospital and the need of the real time noise monitoring system, a qualitative survey was conducted. The responses we got are from various regions of India. Also, a thorough study of the previous on the same topic was done to analyse the topic better.

Result: Despite WHO guidelines on noise for the hospitals, our study shows that noise in the hospitals are still rising and it’s exceeding the recommended limit. Patient’s sleep got hampered during hospital stay, they got irritated due to noise. And it resulted in low patient satisfaction.

Conclusion: Noise does not only impact the patient’s health, but also it leads to low patient satisfaction and negative perception towards the hospitals. People want hospitals to take necessary actions to reduce the noise like real time noise monitoring systems. By focusing on increasing patient satisfaction score, hospitals can achieve revenue goals.