Analysis Of Florence Nightingale s Unnecessary Noise ...

More than 50 percent of residences in aged care homes have different forms of cognitive impairment and dementia, and the number is increasing day by day. It is predicted that most of them are with dementia live their end stages of life in Residential homes or other assisted living facilities. There are different studies are conducting to increase the quality of life in nursing homes. There are different sets of recommendations that can make significant changing in the quality of life both the therapeutic and environmental factors are important. The optimal environment (light, sound and sign) can encourage and support independence while promoting safety (Joosse 2012). People who live in nursing homes have great exposure to large amounts of stimuli such as sound, signage, and light. Studies show that of all stimuli, noise has the most significant and damaging effect on people with dementia. Florence Nightingale wrote in her 1859 Book Notes on Nursing ‘unnecessary noise is the mos t cruel abuse of care which can be inflicted on either the sick or well’’(Florence Nightingale 1859) Noise has a large impact on the health status of an individual. It is a major contributing factor of stress, confusion and agitation among them. A recent study states that noise levels in a nursing home were found in the range of 60-75 dB, which is equivalent to a busy road traffic .Minimizing noise level, is a great intervention to reduce some of the behavioral changes in people with dementia.