{"id":6771,"date":"2013-04-09T01:24:26","date_gmt":"2013-04-09T06:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=6771"},"modified":"2023-05-10T16:03:53","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T21:03:53","slug":"pass-the-peace-and-quiet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/pass-the-peace-and-quiet\/","title":{"rendered":"Pass the peace, and quiet"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Laura Joosse observes diners at Alexian Village, one of the two nursing homes involved in the pilot project. (Photos by Alan Magayne-Roshak)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShhhhhhhhh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bringing down the noise level isn\u2019t quite as easy as putting a finger to the lips to shush people, but a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researcher is discovering ways to bring down the mealtime noise levels in nursing homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m interested in the relationship between sound and psychiatric behaviors \u2013 like agitation \u2013 in people with dementia,\u201d Laura Joosse says.<\/p>\n

She will be presenting the results of her research pilot project on reducing nursing home noise levels at the Wisconsin Alzheimer\u2019s Association meeting May 4.<\/p>\n

Joosse, an assistant professor of nursing, became aware of the possible links between sound and agitation when helping care for her father, who was in the early stages of dementia before his death.\u00a0 \u201cHe seemed to become more agitated with too much sound stimulation,\u201d she remembers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Joosse used a meter to measure the decibel levels during meal time at the nursing home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her doctoral dissertation focused on the impact of a noisy environment on nursing home patients suffering from dementia.<\/p>\n

Ongoing loud sound can contribute to anyone\u2019s stress levels, she explains. However, noisy situations may be particularly troubling to those who don\u2019t totally understand what is aggravating them and have little control over their environment. In addition, she notes, the sound levels and increased agitation among patients may also contribute to staff stress levels. \u201cIt can be a cumulative impact of high sound levels throughout the day,\u201d she says of the link between noise and behavior issues.<\/p>\n

A noisy duet: symphony & silverware<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joosse\u2019s theory is that turning down the noise levels, particularly at meal times, may help decrease the agitation of patients with dementia in nursing homes significantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeal time is one of the loudest times of the day in a nursing home. With meals three times a day that\u2019s a major percentage of an individual\u2019s day,\u201d she notes. Working with two area nursing homes, she began studying if the mealtime volume could be dialed back.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t as simple as having caregivers say \u201cshhhhhhh,\u201d but she did find several steps that could lower the mealtime noise levels, and developed a pilot project with the two homes to develop and test a \u201cnoise abatement protocol. \u201c<\/p>\n

First, she measured the decibels at mealtime in dining areas and identified sources of sound. She then worked with caregivers to figure out ways to change mealtime processes to keep the noise down. Finally, she helped each organization develop a plan that worked for their caregivers to lower the decibels<\/p>\n

Two of the biggest contributors to mealtime noise levels, she found, were background music and the process of setting up and cleaning up the meal.<\/p>\n

Some nursing homes play the music very loud; that\u2019s perhaps because of the underlying stereotype that everybody who\u2019s old is hard of hearing, notes Joosse.\u00a0 For example, she found music sound levels as high as 72 to 74 decibels during mealtimes, when at 60 decibels it becomes hard to hold a conversation. While the louder music might make sense during music therapy time when residents actually wanted or needed to hear the music, she says, during mealtime it just added to the overall noise. By turning down the music, not only were noise levels reduced, but residents were able to communicate better with each other, she adds.<\/p>\n

Down with decibels<\/strong><\/p>\n

The other big factor in mealtime noise levels was the clinking, clanking and banging involved in setting up and clearing tables. The caregivers worked with her to figure out a different process that lowered the sound \u2013 setting the tables before residents arrived for lunch, and clearing them after they\u2019d left the dining room.<\/p>\n

With training and mentoring, caregivers at the two homes also became more aware of actions like slamming cupboard doors that might contribute to overall noise. No one was doing anything deliberately to annoy anyone else, says Joosse. \u201cWhen you\u2019re serving 40 or 50 people, you\u2019re looking for efficient ways to do things, but not realizing how much the sound of set-up could upset some residents.\u201d \u00a0In addition, the sound levels and increased agitation among patients may also contribute to caregiver stress levels.<\/p>\n

At the end of the pilot project, both homes had reduced their mealtime sound levels significantly.\u00a0 Anecdotal evidence from caregivers also indicated that general anxiety levels and agitation among the residents were down. And caregivers said they felt better as well. One caregiver said: \u201cI don\u2019t leave work with a pounding headache anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

A next step in her research, Joosse says, is a study to examine the correlations between sound and changes in behavior among those with dementia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey (the residents with dementia) can\u2019t tell us what\u2019s bothering them so we have to figure out ways we can help.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A UWM researcher is discovering ways to bring down the mealtime noise levels in nursing homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174,175],"tags":[],"section":[135],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[343,163],"class_list":["post-6771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-research","section-health","uwmnews-feed-health-professions-sciences","uwmnews-feed-nursing"],"yoast_head":"\nPass the peace, and quiet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A UWM researcher is discovering ways to bring down the mealtime noise levels in nursing homes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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