Background: Preterm neonates are in an active and sensitive phase of brain development. New treatment goals focus on having a suitable environment for the developmental needs of the neonates, like regulating the stimuli the neonates are exposed to, including a noise level that does not exceed 45 dB.
Objectives: Characterizing the noise levels in the neonatal departments during the day, implementation of low-cost intervention, measuring the changes in noise levels in the after-intervention period.
Methodology: noise levels were measured using smartphone app (SoundMeter) by the research staff in different areas in the neonatal departments, three times a day over a month. The intervention included structured guidelines for behavioral changes: moderate speech and quiet management, mobile phones set into vibration modes, adjusting the monitor alarms to 55 dB. Closing the equipment cabinets gently, etc. The interventions included messages delivered at a staff meeting, explanatory notes, presentations to parents, signposts at the neonatal departments entrances.
Results: After the intervention period, measurements were repeated. We compared the noise intensity in the initial results to a constant value of 50 dB. All the measurements performed in the intermediate unit were significantly higher than this constant value. In the NICU, however, there were less statistically significant results compared to 50 dB. We compared the results before and after the intervention.10 out of 18 comparisons showed statistically significant decrease in volume.
Conclusion: The importance of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of inexpensive and available methods of reducing the intensity of noise in neonatal departments.
