Comparison of Private Room with Multiple-Bed Ward Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Environments

Abstract

Objective: This study determined whether a private room or open ward design better met optimal environmental conditions for a neonatal intensive care unit with regard to sound level, light level, temperature and humidity. Background: Multiple-bed designs for hospital neonatal intensive care units were the standard until recently. Now, private room designs promise to provide better conditions for neonate development and patient care quality. Methods: The study compared an eight-bed open ward design with a private room design of a 45-bed neonatal intensive care unit, measuring the environmental parameters of sound, light, temperature, and humidity before and after the construction and occupation of a new private room unit. Results: Average light levels were higher in the private room design because of the increased number of windows, but both designs were within the recommended levels. Mean temperature readings were two degrees cooler in the private room environment, and readings were more stable. Mean humidity readings in the two environments were the same, but humidity levels in the private room design were more stable. Median sound level in the private room design was lower than the open ward design, but the range was similar. Conclusion: The private room design allows for a more controlled patient care environment that can be maintained within a smaller range of variation nearer optimal environmental conditions.

Assessment of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Sound Exposure Using a Smartphone Application

“…[7][8][9] Modern NICU design incorporates acoustical architectural design elements to reduce sound exposure. Single family rooms (SFR) and open-pod rooms are quieter than open bay rooms, 10,11 but the impact of patient acuity and the relative contribution of individual environmental factors has not been well studied. Benefits of SFR design include decreased stress and improved long-term outcomes.…”

ICU Architectural Design Affects the Delirium Prevalence

“…The noise level is higher in multibed than single-bed rooms (8,10,18), and noise increases subjective stress, annoyance, sympathetic nervous system activation (19), and sleep disruption (8). It has been proved that sleep disruption and the consequent deprivation are associated with an increase in delirium prevalence (20) and confirming that association, the use of ear plugs during the night decreases the delirium prevalence in ICU patients (21).…”

“…A previous study showed that during the day, the light level in single-bed rooms is higher than in multibed rooms due to a higher area of windows (10). Also in the present study, patients admitted in single-bed or multibed rooms were exposed to natural light; however, the patients in single-bed rooms were exposed to an increased number of windows and to a more controllable lighting (more intense light during the day and less during the night).…”

“…We hypothesized that patients admitted in multibed rooms would present a higher prevalence of delirium than those admitted in single-bed rooms because they had been exposed to further and more intense risk factors such as noise, sleep disruption (8), stress (9), lack of privacy and bad lighting control (10), worse patient-family interaction (7), and higher exposure to unrelated sounds, dialogues, and movements.…”

Research on nursing unit layouts: an integrative review

“…(3) Unit net to gross ratios and the mean net to gross ratio for each unit category vary widely in US hospitals (Allison and Hamilton, 2008). (4) Units with private rooms allow for a patient care environment that can be maintained within a smaller range of variation nearer optimal environmental conditions (Van Enk & Steinberg, 2011).…”