Characteristics of the Nighttime Hospital Bedside Care Environment (Sound, Light, and Temperature) for Children with Cancer

Lauri A. Linder, PhD, APRN, CPON; Becky J. Christian, PhD, RN

Cancer Nurs. 2011;34(3):176-184.

Conclusions

The study was the first to report direct measures of sound, light, and temperature levels during the night shift in an inpatient pediatric setting (outside of critical-care unit) and in a pediatric oncology setting. Furthermore, this study reported changes in environmental variables within the night shift rather than mean values and ranges for the entire shift.

It is important to note that sound levels at children's bedsides in patient rooms consistently exceeded those recommended by WHO and were comparable with those reported in pediatric critical-care units. Findings of this study emphasize the significance of increased sound levels in health care settings and the need to develop and test interventions to minimize noise intensity that may influence nighttime sleep of children receiving chemotherapy during the nighttime hours.

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Funding sources
Individual National Research Service Award, National Institute for Nursing Research (F31NR010175-01), Doctoral Scholarship in Cancer Nursing; American Cancer Society (DSCN-06-204-1), and Dissertation Grant Scholarship, Western Institute of Nursing and the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science.

Cite this: Characteristics of the Nighttime Hospital Bedside Care Environment (Sound, Light, and Temperature) for Children with Cancer - Medscape - May 01, 2011.

Table 1. Summary of Sound, Light, and Temperature by Time Interval Across Each Study Night
	Night 1 (n = 15)			Night 2 (n = 15)			Night 3 (n = 14)
	Sound, dB	Light, lumen/ft²	Temperature, °F	Sound, dB	Light, lumen/ft²	Temperature, °F	Sound, dB	Light, lumen/ft²	Temperature, °F
Time interval 1 (7:00–8:59 PM)
Mean	55.1	8.0	72.9	55.3	3.1	73.0	54.6	2.9	72.8
SD	5.4	2.3	0.3	4.7	0.8	0.1	4.8	2.3	0.2
Range	41.9–84.3	0.4–33.3	70.9–75.8	41.9–78.6	0.4–15	69.9–76.9	40.4–82.0	0.4–20.1	70.9–74.9
Time interval 2 (9:00–10:59 PM)
Mean	52.6	1.8	72.6	52.2	1.4	72.9	51.3	3.2	72.7
SD	4.7	1.1	0.2	4.8	0.4	0.1	4.8	1.3	0.2
Range	42.1–83.2	0.4–15	70.7–75.8	41.6–84.8	0.4–9.9	70.4–76.7	40.5–80.0	0.4–17.9	70.8–74.7
Time interval 3 (11:00 PM–12:59 AM)
Mean	47.6	1.0	72.5	48.8	1.1	72.8	48.3	1.1	72.6
SD	2.5	0.2	0.2	3.0	0.4	0.1	4.2	0.2	0.1
Range	41.5–73.0	0.4–1.1	70.4–77.4	42.2–72.2	0.4–13.5	70.4–76.0	40.7–78.9	0.4–13.5	70.6–74.7
Time interval 4 (1:00–2:59 AM)
Mean	46.4	1.0	72.6	47.5	1.0	72.6	47.1	1.0	72.7
SD	1.1	0.2	0.1	1.9	0.2	0.1	2.7	0.2	0.1
Range	41.8–63.7	0.4–1.1	70.4–78.1	42.2–83.2	0.4–1.1	70.5–74.7	40.1–74.1	0.4–1.1	70.6–74.9
Time interval 5 (3:00–4:59 AM)
Mean	46.7	1.0	72.6	47.7	1.0	72.6	47.4	1.0	72.8
SD	1.5	0.2	0.1	1.7	0.2	0.1	1.5	0.2	0.1
Range	41.8–76.1	0.4–1.1	70.5–78.3	41.8–75.2	0.4–1.1	70.5–74.9	41.6–80.8	0.4–1.1	70.6–75.3
Time interval 6 (5:00–6:59 AM)
Mean	46.8	1.0	72.6	48.1	1.3	72.7	47.3	1.1	72.8
SD	2.2	0.2	0.2	2.0	0.6	0.2	2.0	0.2	0.1
Range	34.6–78.7	0.4–1.1	69.9–78.3	41.2–75.2	0.4–17.2	70.4–74.9	39.5–71.7	0.4–1.1	70.6–76.1

Table 2. Comparisons of Estimates of Fixed Effects of Time Interval^a of Night on Sound Level
Time of Night	Estimate	SE	t	P
Time interval 1, 7:00–8:59 PM	7.25	1.07	6.75	<.01^b
Time interval 2, 9:00–10:59 PM	3.96	1.03	3.83	<.01^b
Time interval 3, 11:00 PM–12:59 AM	0.92	0.97	0.95	.34
Time interval 4, 1:00–2:59 AM	−0.24	0.86	−0.27	.78
Time interval 5, 3:00–4:59 AM	0.06	0.67	0.10	.92
Time interval 6, 5:00–6:59 AM	—	—	—	—

^aThe basic mixed linear model automatically sets the estimate of interval 6 to 0. The estimated fixed effects of the other 5 intervals are compared with interval 6.
^b P < .01 (2-tailed).

Table 3. Comparisons of Estimates of Fixed Effects of Time Interval^a of Night on Light Level
Time of Night	Estimate	SE	t	P
Interval 1, 7:00–8:59 PM	1.84	1.02	1.81	.07
Interval 2, 9:00–10:59 PM	2.16	1.02	2.13	.03^b
Interval 3, 11:00 PM–12:59 AM	0.00	1.00	0.00	1.0
Interval 4, 1:00–2:59 AM	−0.01	0.96	−0.02	.99
Interval 5, 3:00–4:59 AM	−0.01	0.83	−0.02	.99
Interval 6, 5:00–6:59 AM	—	—	—	—

^aThe basic mixed linear model automatically sets the estimate of interval 6 to 0. The estimated fixed effects of the other 5 intervals are compared with interval 6.
^b P < .05 (2-tailed).

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Characteristics of the Nighttime Hospital Bedside Care Environment (Sound, Light, and Temperature) for Children with Cancer

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