The Shhh Campaign: Noise Reduction to Improve Patient Outcomes

This session will present the development, implementation and outcomes of the Shhh Campaign, A Noise reduction project focused on reducing noise on the night shift. Sleep deprivation is common in the acute care setting and contributes to significant adverse patient outcomes. Extraneous noise is responsible for a considerable part of awakenings, and sick patients are especially sensitive to environmental noise. Reducing noise levels in hospitals can improve the hospital environment and support healing. Both the patients and the staff can benefit because less noisy surroundings can enhance the delivery of quality care, promote healing, increase patient satisfaction scores and improve the work condition for staff. Prior to starting the project a comprehensive needs assessment and staff survey was completed to examine the current staff knowledge and experience specifically on the night shift. A plan to implement an organizational change was developed by an interprofessional team. The project details were communicated with the staff through flyers and staff meetings. Throughout the implementation, regularly scheduled huddles were completed to educate and support the staff in the process. Key strategies for the project were implemented including the following: 1) dim hallway lights from 10pm to 5 am; 2) close doors for patient’s without safety concerns; 3) medications administered between 11pm to midnight; 4) check routine vital signs before midnight and then after 4am; 5) implement “golden hours of sleep” from midnight to 4 am by minimizing sleep interruptions; and 6) decrease ringers on telephones and pagers to the lowest level that hospital policy allows from 10pm to 5am. Compliance with the implementation of the 6 key interventions continued to increase over the duration of the project up to 93.3%. As compliance with the 6 key interventions increased so did the patient satisfaction HCAHPS scores on satisfaction related to a quiet environment to 62%.