 A quiet environment promotes rest

and healing

 Improving quietness for designated

hours improves patient satisfaction.

 It have been the primary

responsibility of nursing staff
 Hospitalized patients are subjected to noise and • Negative outcomes
interruptions of poor sleep
• Patient’s
 Staff to provide an environment conducive to healing, satisfaction with
patients are subject to annoyances related to equipment, quietness can
artificial overhead lighting as well as health care providers. impact overall
satisfaction with
care.
 • Patients find it challenging to
• Sufficient sleep quality to health and
sleep in the hospital setting due
well-being is a public health priority
to myriad other factors
• Sleep disturbance cycles can cause
• Nurses challenged in offering
functional and psychological
patients for complete sleep
impairment
cycles and restorative rest.
• Patients have preexisting sleep
disorders, others have temporary
sleep disturbances
• Introduce both nighttime and afternoon quiet hours.

• Hours of 2 to 4 PM were chosen as afternoon quiet hours. Midnight to 3 AM was initially

selected for nighttime quiet hours

• Use of calm approach and quieter voices as measures that could be employed to assure

• “quiet time does not mean no-care time”

• Lights were dimmed

• Providing a low interruption period in the patient's busy day to assist with rest.

• Unit staff offered to lower overhead lights and close doors unless the patient
requested that the door remain open.

• Nonpharmacological sleep aids such as eye masks, warm blankets were offered as
part of a sleep preparation
• Discovered one of the loudest noises came from the plastic wheels on the oversized
trash carts.

• Rubberized wheels were purchased to replace the plastic wheels.

• In a subsequent cycle of improvement, the chairs at the nurses' station were also
equipped with quieter wheels.
• Staff members keep their voices low, remind their colleagues of the need to lower
voices.

• Large signs were displayed at key locations to inform visitors and staff about the
hours and importance of QT.

• Created a game as a fun and non-punitive way to provide feedback and remind
their colleagues if their voices became too loud.
• Implementing involves a comprehensive
improvement strategy

• Improvement in sleep scores seen in

shared rooms

• Providing amenity kits containing

headphones, earplugs, and eye masks

• Ambient noise levels improved