Quiet Time Shuts Up Hospital Noise, Australia

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 29 Apr 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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A trial of "quiet time" in a Brisbane hospital has seen noise levels cut by a half and found patients are more than twice as likely to sleep, according to Queensland University of Technology researcher Professor Glenn Gardner.

The study, conducted by a team from QUT's School of Nursing and the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH), examined the effect on patients of a daily period of "lights out and no visitors" in the hospital ward.

Professor Gardner said hospitals were busy places, with visitors, nurses, doctors and students coming and going constantly.

"There is always something happening, alarms going off, and machines beeping. A hospital can be a very noisy environment, which isn't a good thing when you're sick," she said.

As part of the study, the team implemented a mandatory quiet time in the orthopaedic ward of the RBWH and compared this with existing practices in a matched orthopaedic ward at a similar hospital.

For 1.5 hours every day in the RBWH ward, lights were turned off, no visitors were allowed, residents listened to TVs and radios via earpieces, staff movement was restricted and only urgent and immediately necessary clinical treatment was administered.

"We also checked that all patients were comfortable and free from pain," Professor Gardner said.

These measures reduced noise levels dramatically and, as a consequence, patients slept.

"We found it was half as noisy in the RBWH ward and patients were more than twice as likely to be asleep during this time," Professor Gardner said.

Every day during the study, noise levels and the sleeping patterns of patients in the two wards were monitored.

In the RBWH orthopaedic ward the study surveyed patients' and visitors' satisfaction with the quite time and the opinion of hospital clinical staff.

"Every day nurses went around the wards in both hospitals with a sound monitor measuring and recording ambient sound levels," Professor Gardner said.

Illness, trauma and surgery place increased demands on sleep requirements for patients, she said.

For sick people, sleep positively influences blood pressure, pain experiences and emotional wellbeing, suggesting that sleep is good for patient health outcomes.

"Patients can often leave hospital worse than when they arrive because of lack of rest," she said. "Constant noise and activity is not very conducive to getting better."

The majority of patients in the quite time ward reported that they'd had enough time with visitors and liked the "quiet time" intervention.

Visitors also agreed they'd had enough time with their sick relatives although many wanted unlimited visiting access.

The study was funded by a research grant from the Queensland Nursing Council.

Queensland University of Technology