Room:
C60 (Plenary)
Topic:
04 - Effects of noise on cognition, performance and behaviour
Type of presentation:
Oral talk
Duration:
75 Minutes
16:45 pm
3518 - The relationship between aircraft noise and reading: Mediator and moderator effects
Jan Spilski | Germany
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Authors:
Jan Spilski | Germany
Kirstin Bergström
Jochen Mayerl | Germany
Ulrich Möhler | Germany
Thomas Lachmann | Germany
Maria Klatte | Germany
There is considerable evidence that chronic exposure to aircraft noise is associated with lower reading performance in children. The discussion of underlying mechanisms focuses on noise-induced impairments of verbal precursors of reading, quality of instruction, and motivation. There is, however, a lack of studies considering the impact of indirect or moderating factors on the association between noise and reading, such as migration background, urbanicity, and others.
In the NORAH study (Klatte et al., 2016), reading performance, noise exposure, and a range of potential moderating and mediating variables on the individual and class levels were assessed in second-graders living in the vicinity of Frankfurt/Main airport, Germany. Here, we present a theoretically motivated secondary analysis of the NORAH data set. We calculated multilevel analyses (MLAs, mediated and moderated models), and MLAs based on a propensity score matched sample using migration background as grouping variable. We found empirical evidence for indirect and moderated effects in the relationship between noise and reading performance. Including these effects in the multilevel models resulted in a substantial increase of explained variance (R2) in children´s reading.
17:00 pm
3703 - Effects of noise on reading: What do we know about this topic with respect to the occupational context?
Helga Sukowski | Germany
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Author:
Helga Sukowski | Germany
Reading in conditions with unwanted sounds is a common situation that many employees have to deal with in different occupational settings. There are studies investigating effects of noise on reading, but in most cases these studies are laboratory studies and only specific aspects could be implemented like in a real work system. Therefore, a direct transfer of those results to everyday working situations is limited. The studies also differ in several aspects like the reading task, the duration of testing or the study design.
This contribution summarises results from several studies dealing with effects of noise on proofreading tasks. In addition to the aim to uncover similarities and differences across studies, the results are analysed in the light of the question to what extent they provide information about noise effects in the frame of an occupational context, or even the reduction of possible detrimental effects. Necessities for further studies will be pointed out, like consideration of more realistic working demands or studies with employees rather than students. Finally, an outlook on a planned BAuA-research project in this field is given.
17:15 pm
2458 - Effects of noise on errors, injuries and subjective health of hospital staff
Andrew Smith, Prof. Dr. | Cardiff University | United Kingdom
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Author:
Andrew Smith, Prof. Dr. | Cardiff University | United Kingdom
Research on mild occupational noise exposure (where there is no risk to hearing) suggests that this level of noise may be a risk factor for injuries and errors but have no effect on subjective reports of health when other job characteristics are controlled for. The present study continued this research by conducting a survey of over 800 nursing staff. The survey collected information on subjective noise exposure, job characteristics (e.g. demands, control, support, working hours, and other aspects of the physical environment), demographics, and personality. Initial univariate analyses showed that those reporting more frequent noise exposure had more injuries/cognitive failures, greater stress at work, and lower levels of general health and anxiety and depression. Subsequent multi-variate logistic regressions controlled for job and personal characteristics. These analyses showed that noise still had a significant effect on injuries/errors and stress at work. In contrast, the effects of noise on general health and mental health were no longer significant when the other factors were covaried. These results confirm findings from other occupational groups exposed to similar levels of noise.
17:30 pm
3889 - Impact of noise on communication and concentration during surgeries
Sandra Keller, PhD | University of Neuchâtel | Switzerland
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Authors:
Sandra Keller, PhD | University of Neuchâtel | Switzerland
Franziska Tschan | University of Neuchâtel | Switzerland
Norbert K. Semmer, Prof. | University of Bern | Switzerland
Daniel Candinas | University Hospital Bern | Switzerland
Guido Beldi | University Hospital Bern | Switzerland
Performing surgery requires both excellent coordination at the team level and high level of concentration at the individual level. We investigated the effects of noise on (1) observed communication and (2) self-assessed concentration during 109 long abdominal surgeries.
Analyses of 5-min intervals showed that noise peaks (>70 dB(A)) were associated with a decrease of case-relevant, but not of case-irrelevant communication – however, only during phases when the surgery was led by the less experienced surgeon, but not by the senior surgeon. Concentration under higher noise levels also varied as a function of the experience level of the surgeon and the phase of the surgery. Only less experienced surgeons reported lower concentration under higher noise during the most complex phase of the surgery. Furthermore, anaesthesiologist’s concentration was affected by higher noise levels towards the end of the surgery, the most complex phase for their specific tasks.
Thus, noise distracts and affects case-relevant communication during surgeries, but these effects depend on the experience levels and the complexity of the tasks.
17:45 pm
3669 - How does staff perceive the sound environment in operating theaters and treatment rooms with the present standards and building regulations?
Maria Quinn | Saint-Gobain Ecophon AB | Sweden
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Author:
Maria Quinn | Saint-Gobain Ecophon AB | Sweden
Standards and regulations regarding the sound environment in healthcare facilities are often focused on sound insulation to avoid overhearing and disturbances from adjacent rooms and the outdoor. The aspect of room acoustics are in many European countries regulated by only one parameter, Reverberation Time (RT). The Swedish standard has set the maximum to RT >0,6 sec in Operating Theatres and in treatment rooms. The objective of this survey was to assess if this creates a comfortable sound environment where staff is confident to interpret oral ordinations and alarm signals from the technical surveillance?
We conducted a survey of a total of 154 nurses and assistant nurses and the result shows that the sound environment have importance for staff possibility to conduct their work in a good manner. Also that staff often found it difficult to interpret the direction of the sound. Ability to concentrate was affected and poor sound environment was sometimes the cause of misunderstanding oral ordination. Perception of wellbeing due to the sound environment decreased when there was numerous staff in the room and the workload was stressful.