Better Sleep Experience for the Critically Ill: A Comprehensive Strategy for Designing Hospital Soundscapes

Abstract

In this paper, the sleep phenomenon is considered in relation to critical care soundscapes with the intention to inform hospital management, medical device producers and policy makers regarding the complexity of the issue and possible modes of design interventions. We propose a comprehensive strategy based on soundscape design approach that facilitates a systematic way of tackling the auditory quality of critical care settings in favor of better patient sleep experience. Future research directions are presented to tackle the knowledge deficits in designing for critical care soundscapes that cater for patient sleep. The need for scientifically-informed design interventions for improving patient sleep experience in critical care is highlighted. The value of the soundscape design approach for resolving other sound-induced problems in critical care and how the approach allows for patient-centred innovation that is beyond the immediate sound issue are further discussed.

SOUNDscapes: A dashboard for promoting a healthy sound environment inside the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

“…In this context, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) patients are particularly likely to experience physiological limitations, central nervous system limitations, and dependency on intensive care because of acoustic pollution [5][6][7][8]. Therefore, it is crucial to raise everyone's awareness of the issues and problems caused by the amount of sound that devices and individuals produce especially in shared acoustic spaces, in which listening and sound-making depends on individuals and their purpose [8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

Disturbed Sleep: Estimating Night-time Sound Annoyance at a Hospital Ward

“…Because of the ambiguity of its functions, it may be difficult to organise the acoustic environment or control the sound-producing events, especially because nurses are often unaware of the sonic consequences of their and others' actions [9]. Thus, mitigating the problem of sleep disruption by sound is an ongoing effort in the field of sound-driven design for healthcare [10] [11]. One major step towards improving patient experience at night-time would be to define what types of sounds cause sleep disruption.…”

Conceptualising sound-driven design: an exploratory discourse analysis

“…Apparently, the health and well-being fields represent a promising arena for sound-driven design, as a design practice that aims at seamlessly being societal in its expression, and yet grounded within a larger network of research disciplines. In the context of critical care, a soundscape design and patient-centered approach has been used to analyse and assess the ecology of noises and actors affecting the sleep quality of critically ill patients in the ICU, and to provide lines of intervention to promote sonic awareness, improve the alarms management, and support the patient's familiarisation with the ICU sonic environment [3]. Similarly, a design framework informed by principles of multisensory integration has been proposed in order to reduce noise fatigue, deliver more meaningful clinical information, and improve the patient outcomes [4].…”