Effects of the Noise Reduction and Communication Management Headset System SLOS on Noise and Stress of Medical Laboratory Workers.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effects of the Silent Laboratory Optimization System (SLOS), a technical-noise reduction and communication-management system, on noise load and stress among medical-laboratory workers.

Methods: We conducted a quasiexperimental field study (20 days with SLOS as the experimental condition, and 20 days without SLOS as the control condition) in a within-subjects design. Survey data from 13 workers were collected before and after the shift. Also, a survey was conducted after the control and experimental conditions, respectively. Noise was measured in dBA and as a subjective assessment. Stress was operationalized via a stress composite score (STAI and Perkhofer Stress Scale), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), an exhaustion score (Leipziger StimmungsBogen in German [LSB]), and salivary cortisol values in µg/L.

Results: SLOS users perceived significantly less noise (V = 76.5; P =.003). Multilevel models revealed a stress reduction with the SLOS on the composite score, compared with a stress increase in the control condition (F[1, 506.99] = 6.00; P = .01). A lower PSS score (F[1,13] = 4.67; P = .05) and a lower exhaustion level (F[1, 508.72] = 9.057; P = .003) in the experimental condition were found, whereas no differences in cortisol (F[1,812.58.6] = 0.093; P = .76) were revealed.

Conclusion: The workers showed reduced noise perception and stress across all criteria except cortisol when using SLOS.