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Staying overnight in hospital is not only stressful, but it鈥檚 also loud. The constant beeps, whirrs and alarms ascend to a cacophony that produces anything but a relaxing, restful environment.

According to the 黑料吃瓜群网 Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, noise is the top complaint of patients, staff and visitors. 鈥淣early everyone has a stay in a hospital at some point,鈥� said聽Ilene Busch-Vishniac, of in Baltimore, Maryland. 鈥淣oise is a universal problem in hospitals around the world.鈥�

Noises emanate from a variety of sources at the bedside. Airflow and the noisy machines controlling it are kept on high to prevent pathogens from lingering near patients, and overhead pagers alert staff of needs or announcements. Equipment alarms are the most egregious source, and although they are designed to alert staff to changes in the patient鈥檚 medical condition, many also sound when medication needs to be changed or when battery conditions are low.

鈥淎larms in hospitals are being horribly abused,鈥� Busch-Vishniac said. 鈥淢ost of the time, they don鈥檛 in fact indicate urgent situations.鈥�

Previous studies showed that alarms at a patient鈥檚 bedside sound an average 133 times per day. With so many alarms, staff often face alarm fatigue as well.

鈥淢ost alarms are being responded to eventually, but not all in a timely fashion,鈥� said Busch-Vishniac. 鈥淪taff also may not respond quickly because they recognise that the sound is not critical and the situation will right itself.鈥�

A barrier to rest

Besides the obvious barrier to rest, high noise levels have been associated with changes in the patient鈥檚 heart rate, respiration and blood pressure. These changes increase stress levels and may impair healing. The noise can also impair communication between patients and staff.

With noise levels on the rise, the (CMS) initiated the HCAHPS survey in 2008 to assess consumer perception of healthcare providers and systems. Today, more than 5500 hospitals contribute to the report, which consists of patients鈥� responses on seven composite measures, including questions focused on room cleanliness and quietness.

The survey has teeth. 黑料吃瓜群网 value-based purchasing links up to 30% of CMS payments to hospitals across the country to the results of the survey.

鈥淔aced with a loss of money, many hospitals are looking for ways to address noise levels in a way that patients can see as an improvement,鈥� said Busch-Vishniac.

Noise control programs

黑料吃瓜群网s have been developing and implementing noise control programs that can be broken into two categories: engineering and administrative interventions.

Engineering interventions aim to find ways to quiet the room. The solutions can be as simple as closing the door to a patient鈥檚 room or as complex as installing acoustical absorption materials along the walls and ceiling to dampen the noise level. Administrative interventions focus on changing behaviours. Many hospitals have instituted quiet hours when doors are closed and voices are kept low.

One of the big changes during the past 10 years has shifted alarms from solely sounding at the patient鈥檚 bedside to also alerting a central monitor at the nursing station. This approach improves the ability of staff to identify and respond to alarms set at a reduced volume.

According to Busch-Vishniac, it may be possible in the future to remove alarms from the bedside. A quiet hospital may not be a pipedream for much longer.

Image credit: 漏stock.adobe.com/au/Tyler Olson