Environmental noise in hospitals: a systematic review de Lima Andrade, Erik; da Cunha e Silva, Darllan Collins; de Lima, Eligelcy Augusta ...
Environmental science and pollution research international,
04/2021, Letnik:
28, Številka:
16
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Environmental noise has been growing in recent years, causing numerous health problems. Highly sensitive environments such as hospitals deserve special attention, since noise can aggravate patients’ ...health issues and impair the performance of healthcare professionals. This work consists of a systematic review of scientific articles describing environmental noise measurements taken in hospitals between the years 2015 and 2020. The researchers started with a consultation of three databases, namely, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. The results indicate that for the most part, these studies are published in journals in the fields of medicine, engineering, environmental sciences, acoustics, and nursing and that most of their authors work in the fields of architecture, engineering, medicine, and nursing. These studies, which are concentrated in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, use as reference values sound levels recommended by the World Health Organization. L
eq
measured in hospital environments showed daytime values ranging from 37 to 88.6 dB (A) and nighttime values of 38.7 to 68.8 dB (A). L
eq
values for outdoor noise were 74.3 and 56.6 dB (A) for daytime and nighttime, respectively. The measurements were taken mainly inside hospitals, prioritizing more sensitive departments such as intensive care units. There is a potential for growth in work carried out in this area, but research should also include discussions about guidelines for improvement measures aimed at reducing noise in hospitals.
Graphical abstract
Noise pollution has become a public health problem in several countries worldwide. Noise maps are tools used in many cities, mainly on the European continent. In other regions, they are used in ...smaller areas, and few studies focus on hospital areas, considered noise-sensitive zones. In this context, this study aimed to perform sound measurements and noise maps for the day and night periods in the surroundings of three hospitals in Sorocaba, Brazil. Sound measurements occurred around the three hospitals based on NBR 10151 and ISO 1996 standards. The noise maps were drawn up using a calculation model based on ISO 9613–2. Results showed that the sound measurement points around the hospitals had levels above those recommended by the Brazilian standard for sensitive areas (L
Aeq
50 and 45 dB for day and night, respectively). The acoustic maps showed high sound levels on all faces of the hospital buildings, both during the day and at night. The worst scenario concerned the vicinity of the roads with the highest flow and speed of vehicles. We concluded that three different hospitals in the city have high sound levels in their surroundings above the recommended for sensitive areas.
O ruído é um problema que afeta hospitais a nível mundial, isso pode provocar efeitos negativos para pacientes e funcionários. Embora as Unidades de Terapia Intensiva (UTI) sejam mais sensíveis e ...tenham sido amplamente estudadas, poucos trabalhos se aprofundaram em dados fundamentais, como a análise do espectro de frequência. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o conforto acústico dentro da UTI de um hospital público no município de Sorocaba-Sp. Foram realizadas medições sonoras em triplicata, durante 15 minutos cada, em diferentes dias da semana e nos períodos diurno e noturno. Utilizaram-se os descritores acústicos LAeq, LAmin e LAmax em dB, e o espectro de frequência foi analisado com filtro de 1/3 de oitava. Os resultados mostraram que os níveis sonoros médios, tanto durante o dia quanto a noite, estavam acima do nível recomendados pela Organização Mundial da Saúde e pela NBR 10152, esses foram superiores a 50 e 80 dB na curva de ponderação A, pois é a que mais se adequa a faixa auditiva humana. Em relação ao espectro de frequência, constatou-se que a faixa entre 500 a 1000 Hz tem maior influência nos níveis sonoros dentro da UTI. Esses resultados podem ser objeto para auxiliar na tomada de decisão dos gestores quanto à implantação de programas e protocolos para redução de ruído em UTIs.
Environmental noise is a public health problem that arises mainly from vehicular traffic. In noise-sensitive areas, such as hospitals, the harm is even greater, as noise affects the recovery of ...patients and causes stress and disturbance to employees. Noise control measures are usually restricted to simulations and mathematical modeling. Given this context, the present study assesses environmental noise around a public hospital in Sorocaba city, São Paulo State, Brazil, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, benefiting from measures to restrict the circulation of vehicles and people. Measurements were performed in triplicate, on weekdays, at four points around the hospital during the day, and followed the guidelines of standard NBR 10.151/2019. The number of light and heavy vehicles was counted manually. The equipment used was the BK 2260 analyzer and a tripod with adjustable height. The circulation of light and heavy vehicles decreased significantly during the pandemic. However, this decrease was not enough for sound levels to meet the 50 dB(A) recommended for noise-sensitive areas. This fact can be due to the speed of the remaining vehicles being above the established for the surrounding streets. Vehicles are the main responsible for the high levels of noise in the area, overlapping the levels generated by the different activities in the study site.
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