Sound environment of bedrooms in typical long-term care facilities in China

Abstract

Evidence shows that older individuals would be more sensitive to noise, whereas sound environment of healthcare facilities for seniors in China is largely ignored. In this study, acoustic measurements were carried out over 24 hours in twelve bedrooms in five typical long-term care facilities, including two nursing homes and three adult homes in Kunming, China. Sound perception and preference of elder and nursing staff were also investigated through questionnaire surveys. The results showed that the noise levels of the measured bedrooms reached 47.4~59.3 dBA during the daytime and 39.1~49.3 dBA during the nighttime. The nursing homes were measured higher noise levels than the adult homes due to nursing care activities. Meanwhile, results showed a more significant gap between the bedrooms facing the streets and those not facing the streets. In terms of subjective evaluation, 'traffic noise' was the most common and unwanted noise source considered by both recipients and staff. Recipients from nursing homes indicated that noise has more significant impact on their 'sleep,' 'health' and 'relaxation' than those from adult homes. The indoor soundscape could be improved by introducing some natural sounds such as 'stream,' 'birds,' 'wind' and 'rain' which were considered as the wanted sounds by most participants.