Descriptors of aural connectivity: Architectural enclosure features and acoustical qualities.

Abstract

In intensive care unit (ICU) settings, auditory monitoring of alarm and nonalarm sounds is one of the key nursing functions. In the ICU sound environments there are many different noise sources, some producing more than one tone to communicate different conditions. In a sound environment with many different sound layers offering different sound qualities and sound levels nurses are expected to distinguish the sounds from each other and identify critical ones. Earlier studies showed that effective auditory monitoring requires recognition, localization, and immediate reaction to critical sounds to improve patient safety, nurse work efficiency, and reduce nurse burnout. This study explores the nurse task specific auditory monitoring experience by documenting the nurse auditory tasks and systematically mapping related sounds. This is analyzed as aural connectivity, a network measure that reflects the overall pattern of where users can recognize and localize the critical sounds in architectural enclosures. It is hypothesized that enclosure types shape sound environments that affect user auditory experience. This paper defines the metrics for enclosures and associated acoustical qualities by looking at two ICU settings and discusses the preliminary results regarding the relationship between qualities of sound environment and architectural enclosures.