by Agostina Ferrentino, Clara Rius, and Ramón Torrents Introduction: Space for music The hospital is one of the most acoustically demanding environments that exist. Medical equipment, alarms, conversations and continuous activity generate noise levels that affect both rest and the emotional state of patients and staff. For decades, healthcare design has focused on minimising this impact […]
intensive care unit
Assessment of Factors affecting speech in ICU wards
Introduction Speech in the ICU affected Intensive care units (ICU) can be noisy and disruptive environments from both a patient recovery and workplace perspective, affecting speech intelligibility. Noise and poor ward acoustics have been linked to sleep disturbance and protracted recovery times in patients, as well as increasing workplace stress, fatigue and occupational burnout in […]
