Study of Noise Pollution in the Outdoors, Emergency Departments and Intensive Care Units in Educational Hospitals in the 1st District of Tehran in 2017: A Descriptive Study

Paying attention to the comfort of the patient during hospitalization is very important. Noise pollution can exacerbate a person's illness. Additionally, if the noise pollution exceeds the threshold limit, it will have negative effects on the staff and appropriate services. The aim of this study was to identify the sources and the level of noise pollution in the emergency and emergency care units and outside areas of educational hospitals at the 1st district of Tehran, in the winter of 2017. In this descriptive study, measurement of noise pressure level in emergency department, emergency care units and outdoors in four hospitals in working days and holidays was carried out at three times in the morning, noon and evening by the TES-1358 sound analyzer device. Data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA. According to the results, the average and standard deviation of noise level in different sections of the hospitals on Saturday and Friday were respectively 62.79±7.32 and 57.98±6.43 dB during the morning shift, 66.15±8.09 and 65.16±7.82 dB during afternoon shift, 64.26±6.69 and 63.19±5.42 dB during the evening shift. There was no significant difference between the sound pressure levels on Friday and Saturday, among the rounds of measurements (morning, afternoon and evening) and among sections (the emergency department and the emergency care unit)(p>0.05). The results of the study showed that the rate of noise pollution in some parts of educational hospitals is higher than national and international standards. The necessary actions are recommended to be taken in order to decrease the noise and its causative factors for creating a more quiet environment for patients.