Towards a quieter Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Current approaches and design opportunities

Recent studies show that the well-being of patients and the performance of healthcare professionals in modern neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are severely affected by the amount of auditory alarms and sound nuisance. This paper presents a semi-systematic review on the topic of environmental sound in the NICU, where current themes, insights, and limitations are highlighted. Furthermore, it outlines the results of an observation of the NICU environment and an interview with nurses at Erasmus Medical Center, in order to understand the users, their context, and the technology that can enable design interventions. The insights gathered from the literature and the users, together with a technology search, lead to potential design opportunities to be developed further. Based on these, we propose a technological solution towards a healthy sound environment in the NICU

Employing spatial sonification of target motion in tracking exercises

This paper presents the results of an experiment in which the effect of spatial sonification of a moving target on the user's performance during the execution of basic tracking exercises was investigated. Our starting hypothesis is that a properly designed multimodal continuous feedback could be used to represent temporal and spatial information that can in turn improve performance and motor learning of simple target following tasks. Sixteen subjects were asked to track the horizontal movement of a circular visual target by controlling an input device with their hand. Two different continuous task-related auditory feedback modalities were considered, both simulating the sound of a rolling ball, the only difference between them being the presence or absence of binaural spatialization of the target's position. Results demonstrate how spatial auditory feedback significantly decreases the average tracking error with respect to visual feedback alone, contrarily to monophonic feedback. It was thus found how spatial information provided through sound in addition to visual feedback helps subjects improving their performance

Satisfação no trabalho da equipe de enfermagem: revisão integrativa

Job satisfaction consists of a feeling of wellbeing, resulting from the interaction of several occupational aspects, and may influence the worker's relationship with the organization, clients and family. Hence, it becomes important for the quality of nursing care to reflect on this topic in depth. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the scientific evidence related to job satisfaction in Brazilian nursing. An integrative literature review was carried out in the databases LILACS, MEDLINE, BDENF and Cochrane Library, totaling 17 publications, categorized in: Job Satisfaction, Job Dissatisfaction and Associated Factors. It was concluded that job satisfaction is determined by a complex network of factors and may vary depending on the group studied. Additional research, particularly of evidence level III in different nursing fields, covering all of Brazil, is necessary to support the implementation of occupational improvements.La satisfacción en el trabajo consiste en un sentimiento de bienestar resultante de la interacción de varios aspectos ocupacionales, pudiendo influenciar la relación del trabajador con la organización, clientes y familia. Es importante para la calidad de la asistencia de enfermería realizar una reflexión profunda sobre este tema, por eso se objetivó en este estudio analizar las evidencias científicas referentes a la satisfacción en el trabajo del equipo de enfermería brasileño. Se trató de una revisión integradora de la literatura en las bases de datos LILACS, MEDLINE, BDENF y Biblioteca Cochrane, totalizando 17 publicaciones categorizadas en: Satisfacción en el Trabajo, Insatisfacción en el Trabajo y Factores Asociados. Se concluyó que la satisfacción en el trabajo es determinada por una red compleja de factores, pudiendo variar conforme el grupo estudiado. Investigaciones adicionales, especialmente con niveles de evidencias III, en diferentes campos de actuación de la enfermería, abarcando todo el Brasil, son necesarias para subsidiar la implantación de mejorías ocupacionales.A satisfação no trabalho consiste em sentimento de bem-estar. resultante da interação de vários aspectos ocupacionais, podendo influenciar a relação do trabalhador com a organização, clientes e família. Torna-se importante, para a qualidade da assistência de enfermagem, reflexão aprofundada sobre esse tema, e, por isso, objetivou-se neste estudo analisar as evidências científicas referentes à satisfação no trabalho da equipe de enfermagem brasileira. Trata-se de revisão integrativa da literatura nas bases de dados LILACS, MEDLINE, BDENF e Biblioteca Cochrane, totalizando 17 publicações categorizadas em: satisfação no trabalho, insatisfação no trabalho e fatores associados. Conclui-se que a satisfação no trabalho é determinada por rede complexa de fatores, podendo variar conforme o grupo estudado. Pesquisas adicionais, especialmente com níveis de evidências III, em diferentes campos de atuação da enfermagem, abrangendo todo Brasil, são necessárias para subsidiar a implantação de melhorias ocupacionais