Photo courtesy Ecore
According to the research paper, “Shades of Florence Nightingale: Potential Impact of Noise Stress on Wound Healing,” “Noise has long been recognized as an environmental stressor that causes physiological, psychological, and behavioral changes in healthy subjects. Environmental noise and its potential effects on healing and recovery are of special concern to nurses in hospital settings, where increased levels of noise and the effect of noise on patient sleep and cognitive function have been well documented in the literature,” (the paper was written by D.O. McCarthy, M.E. Ouimet, and J.M. Daun for the Holistic Nurse Practice in 1991).
Perhaps one of the most significant examples left behind by the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, was her commitment to patient care. She understood the importance of producing a state of mind and body conducive to healing. When it comes to designing the built environment in a way that promotes healing, the old adage of “out of sight, out of mind” rings true, as acoustics are too often neglected. Yet, according to the 2018 Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores, noise remains one of the poorest scoring categories.
This article appears along with a couple of others in The Underlying Importance of Underlayments, a free, downloadable resource. To get your copy in either pdf or digital edition, visit https://www.constructionspecifier.com/ebook/huber-the-underlying-importance-of-underlayments-e-book.
