Product category:
Ceilings
News Release from: Ecophon | Subject: Acoustic Design for Health report
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 04 July 2005
Health benefits from noise reduction
'Acoustic Design for Health' report, available from Ecophon, links good acoustic design practice with recovery and productivity levels in healthcare environments.
A recent report that links good acoustic design practice with recovery and productivity levels in healthcare environments has been published in the medical journals Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the International Journal of Cardiology The collaborative work was carried out by a group that included Professor Roger Ulrich and Ecophon (Saint-Gobain Ecophon AB), leaders in the manufacture of acoustic ceilings
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 19 Jun 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Quiet start for Ruislip new high school
Academic life at Ruislip High School is very quiet because a selection of specially developed acoustic damping products from Ecophon have been employed throughout the various interior spaces.
Riding a wave with the architectural S-line tile
Architect in charge at Ashton Sixth Form College made full use of Ecophon's innovative architectural ceiling tiles.
With so many noise sources in healthcare buildings, particularly hospitals, coupled with mainly hard surfaces in walls, floors and ceilings, sound travels long distances and reverberation times are high.
Stressful conditions are created and both staff and patients are adversely affected.
Whilst several previous studies have concluded that noise contributes to poor sleep patterns and increasing blood pressure in patients, the Ecophon report is based upon more sensitive measures showing, for instance, that even low noise levels in the region of 38 to 40 dB, can rouse sleepers from deep to shallow sleep.
The findings also show that the use of sound-absorbing tiles to the ceiling contributed to better care quality among nursing staff and increased social support from colleagues, suggesting that patient care, productivity and staff turnover levels benefit from good acoustic conditions.
The report concludes that some noise sources should be reduced or removed, single-occupancy rooms should be used where possible and high-performance sound-absorbing ceilings should be fitted together with non-reverberating floor coverings.
Other recommendations include external noise reduction through better planning and patient control of noise sources such as radio and television.
The study was carried out at the Swedish National Institute for Psychological Medicine, together with the Department for Cardiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm and the Centre for Health Systems and Design at Texas.
Ecophon (Saint-Gobain Ecophon AB) managed and implemented the conversion of the Coronary Critical Care Unit on the ward at Karolinska University Hospital where the study was carried out.
Findings from the report entitled "Acoustic Design for Health" are available from Ecophon. Request a free brochure from Ecophon ...
• Ecophon: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Buildingtalk email newsletter
• Buildingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
