Assessment of the acoustical standards in patient care units in Jordanian National Hospitals in light of the international criteria: Case of King Abdullah University Hospital

Abstract

The medical functionality of hospitals is essential in the healing process in patients’ wards. The acoustical environment in the hospital needs to be investigated to achieve the best level of patients' acoustical comfort. This study evaluates the sound insulating properties of the patients’ wards in light of the American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM International, and the international organization for standardization, ISO 3382-2. The study focuses on the acoustical environment units in patients' rooms in terms of Sound Transmission Class (STC) and impacts transmission class to evaluate the acoustical privacy and the acoustical comfort level in these rooms during the occupancy time. A field test associated with the computational methods is used for this purpose. The study found that the acoustical properties of the walls of the sampled rooms meet the ASTM standards. It also found that the sound transmission class, STC of the doors and windows does not meet the requirements of the international standards. Keywords: Health care facilities, Patient care unit’s nightingale ward Acoustical environment, ASTM, Acoustical privacy