Understanding thermal comfort perception of nurses in a hospital ward work environment
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A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
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Date
2018-08-01
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Language
en
Pages
9
Series
Building and Environment, Volume 140, pp. 119-127
Abstract
In indoor comfort research, thermal comfort of care-professionals in hospital environment is a little explored topic. To address this gap, a mixed methods study, with the nursing staff in hospital wards acting as participants, was undertaken. Responses were collected during three weeks in the summer (n = 89), and four weeks in the autumn (n = 43). Analysis of the subjective feedback from nurses and the measured indoor thermal conditions revealed that the existent thermal conditions (varying between 20 and 25 °C) caused a slightly warm thermal sensation on the ASHRAE seven point scale. This led to a slightly unacceptable thermal comfort and a slightly obstructed self-appraised work performance. The results also indicated that the optimal thermal sensation for the nurses — suiting their thermal comfort requirements and work performance — would be closer to 'slightly cool’ than neutral. Using a design approach of dividing the hospital ward into separate thermal zones, with different set-points for respectively patient and care-professionals’ comfort, would seem to be the ideal solution that contributes positively to the work environment and, at the same time, creates avenues for energy conservation.Description
Keywords
Hospitals, Nursing staff, Thermal comfort, Thermal zones, Work performance
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Citation
Derks, M T H, Mishra, A K, Loomans, M G L C & Kort, H S M 2018, ' Understanding thermal comfort perception of nurses in a hospital ward work environment ', Building and Environment, vol. 140, pp. 119-127 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.05.039