Night Owl: Evaluating Hospital Soundscape v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Night Owl: Evaluating Hospital Soundscape
IRAS ID
244004
Contact name
Francis Stevens
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Univerity of York
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
York Teaching Hospital inpatient surveys in 2015 and 2016 respectively showed that 22% and 28% of patients were disturbed at night by noise from hospital staff and equipment. To raise awareness, the Night Owl Initiative was launched in 2016, where wards identified what they could do with regard to noise levels, and made a pledge to do so by displaying information posters. This work was supported by the York Teaching Hospital Charity which supplied 1000 ‘sleeping packs’, each containing an eye mask and earplugs.
The feedback for this initiative was overwhelmingly positive, and identified the need for further work in the measurement, recording, and evaluation of hospital soundscape in order better to understand noise and disruption on hospital wards and recommend behavioural changes to improve the sound environment.
To understand this problem better and consider potential solutions, methods for the measurement, capture, and evaluation of the hospital soundscape are required.
The purpose of this research is for the University of York AudioLab to work with the York Teaching Hospital to combine objective and subjective evaluation methodologies to identify problematic sonic elements, their acoustic and perceptual features, and what can be done in order to improve the hospital sound environment.
This will include two or more periods of noise level measurement and sound recording on a ward at the hospital. There will be no access to personal information for the patients participating. Whilst the sound recording may end up capturing some sensitive material (e.g. conversations between patients and staff), such material is not relevant to the study and will be redacted and destroyed upon first review of the recorded material.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/YH/0194
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion