Villamor Ordozgoiti A, Priu Parra I, España Salvador MC, Torres Valdés C, Bas Ciutad MP, Ponce Quílez MR. Intervention to reduce the impact of light and noise on sleep in an emergency department observation area. Emergencias. 2017;29:39-42
Summary
Objective.
To study quality of patient rest before and after an intervention to reduce nighttime light and noise in the emergency department observation area of an urban hospital.
Methods.
Quasi-experimental study in 2 groups before and after the intervention in the observation area of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. We administered a questionnaire about the quality of nighttime rest to assess the effect of light and noise on sleep. Light and noise were reduced by means of structural changes to the environment and
through the introduction of protocols to modify how care plans were carried out at night.
Results.
Fifty nurses participated in the pre-intervention study and 371 in the post-intervention study. Seventy-two percent and 91.37% of the patients reported resting well before and after the intervention, respectively (P<.001). Factors like pain, nursing care, or daytime naps do not affect sleep quality.
Conclusions.
Nighttime rest in emergency department observation areas is affected by ambient light and noise more than by other variables. Reducing light and noise at night can measurably improve patients’ rest.
