Journal of Occupational
Health and Epidemiology
Rafsanjan university Of medical sciences
Volume 10, Issue 3 (Summer 2021)
J Occup Health Epidemiol 2021, 10(3): 193-203 |
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Sheikhmozafari M J, Mohammad Alizadeh P, Ahmadi O, Mazloomi B. Assessment of Noise Effect on Employee Comfort in an Open-Plan Office: Validation of an Assessment Questionnaire. J Occup Health Epidemiol 2021; 10 (3) :193-203
URL: http://johe.rums.ac.ir/article-1-464-en.html
URL: http://johe.rums.ac.ir/article-1-464-en.html
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1- MSc in Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
2- Assistant Prof., Dept. of Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. , o.ahmadi@modares.ac.ir
3- BSc in Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, School of Public Health, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran.
2- Assistant Prof., Dept. of Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. , o.ahmadi@modares.ac.ir
3- BSc in Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, School of Public Health, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran.
Article history
Received: 2021/08/29
Accepted: 2021/11/3
ePublished: 2021/12/1
Accepted: 2021/11/3
ePublished: 2021/12/1
Subject:
Occupational Health
Abstract: (1709 Views)
Background: Today, open-plan offices are among the most common work environments. Although the noise in these environments is usually below the standard level, it is one of the critical annoyance factors due to the nature of the mental work. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess noise effects on employee comfort and validate the Persian version of the assessment of noise effects on employee comfort in the open-plan office questionnaire in Iran.
Materials & Methods: The present descriptive study was conducted in an open-plan office in Shiraz, in 2021. We distributed questionnaires among 66 employees. Besides, we translated the questionnaire using the backward-forward technique, with the alpha coefficient and the intra-class correlation used to measure reliability. Finally, we used the Kappa, Spearman, and Mann-Whitney tests in SPSS V22.0 for data analysis.
Results: The validity of the questionnaire items was evaluated as acceptable using Kappa and Spearman's coefficients. Besides, the reliability of the questionnaire, using the ICC and the alpha coefficient, was 0.876 and 0.930, respectively. In this study, the employees were sensitive to noise, and their overall satisfaction with their physical conditions was moderate. In total, 47% of the employees considered the noise level of their working environment high and very high, and 35% considered it annoying or very annoying.
Conclusions: The findings of the present study showed that the questionnaire was an effective and reliable tool for noise annoyance assessments in office environments. Besides, we can use this tool to determine improvements required in open-plan offices and to evaluate the efficiency of these improvements.
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