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.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to describe nighttime patterns of environmental factors (sound, light, and temperature levels) at the bedside of school-aged children with cancer who were receiving chemotherapy in the inpatient setting.

Research questions guiding this study were as follows:

What are the levels of sound, light, and temperature at the bedside of children hospitalized in an inpatient pediatric oncology setting during 3 consecutive 12-hour night shifts (7:00 PM to 7:00 AM)?
What are the patterns of sound, light, and temperature during a 12-hour night shift (7:00 PM to 7:00 AM) over 3 consecutive nights for children hospitalized in an inpatient pediatric oncology setting?

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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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