Retrospective Evaluation of the Effects of Staff Training on Sound Levels Measurements in the Intensive Care Unit

Objective: High sound levels measured in intensive care units cause harmful effects on the health of patients and employees. In this context, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends sound level values that are safe for health in hospitals. The aim of this study is to compare the sound levels measured before and after the training given to the employees, and to evaluate the sound levels measured in the intensive care unit according to the recommended safe values, retrospectively. Methods: In our unit, sound measurements were made with a noise analyzer (FLUKE model: Biotek: Biotek serial no: 6050274) from 17 different points of the unit at 14 different times per day. Unit employees are given training on the harms of noise and the success of the education is evaluated. In this study, based on the data obtained from the recordings, the 10-day sound level measurements before and after the education were compared. Based on data obtained from hospital records, ten-day sound level measurements before and after training were compared. Results: There was no difference between the measurements made at 17 points within the unit. For this reason, the mean of 17 measurement values was taken and the time-dependent changes of the data were analyzed. After the training, it was observed that there were significant decreases in the mean sound levels in the follow-up at night (p<0.05). However, all these values were above the safe threshold values recommended by WHO for hospitals. Conclusion: Although the behavioral changes provided by the training of the employees in our unit decreased the sound levels in our unit, they could not fall below the recommended safe threshold value. We concluded that safe values can be achieved by using sound reducing barriers in the design of the units and controlling all sources and devices that produce sound. Keywords: Intensive care, noise, training, sound level