A method to analyze the sound environment and its relation with typical professional tasks is described in which structured non participative observations are combined with audio recordings. First results of a field study are reported, directed towards the day shift of hospital nurses, working at a surgical …

A substantial amount of studies have addressed the influence of sound on human performance. In many of these, however, the large acoustic differences between experimental conditions prevent a direct translation of the results to realistic effects of room acoustic interventions. This review identifies …

While research has shown the multiple benefits of single-bed patient rooms in hospitals, amongst which the experience of privacy and dignity, the majority of patient rooms in existing hospitals are shared. Transforming them into single-patient rooms can be time-consuming, costly or even impossible, …