Faculty mentor/PI email address
jim010@aol.cm
Is your research Teaching and Learning based?
1
Keywords
Acoustic Variability; ED Noise: Turbulence; Complex Adaptive Systems; Resilience Engineering
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Emergency Department (ED) noise has historically been framed as an occupational and environmental hazard requiring mitigation. And this is still true—but not complete. Early work focused on exposure reduction and spike identification. Subsequent mapping studies demonstrated spatial and temporal differentiation in ED acoustic load. We propose an expanded conceptual model: acoustic variability may function not only as a hazard, but also as a real-time signal of operational turbulence within the ED as a complex adaptive system (CAS). Drawing on human factors, alarm fatigue, resilience engineering, and complexity science, we synthesize existing literature and institutional experience to identify a critical gap—noise has been suppressed but rarely interpreted. We outline a future research agenda centered on acoustic variance, spike density, and temporal coupling with operational instability and safety proxies.
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Environmental Monitoring | Medicine and Health Sciences
Listening to the System: Reframing Emergency Department Noise: The Case for Noise as a Real-Time Operational Signal in a Complex Adaptive System (CAS)
Emergency Department (ED) noise has historically been framed as an occupational and environmental hazard requiring mitigation. And this is still true—but not complete. Early work focused on exposure reduction and spike identification. Subsequent mapping studies demonstrated spatial and temporal differentiation in ED acoustic load. We propose an expanded conceptual model: acoustic variability may function not only as a hazard, but also as a real-time signal of operational turbulence within the ED as a complex adaptive system (CAS). Drawing on human factors, alarm fatigue, resilience engineering, and complexity science, we synthesize existing literature and institutional experience to identify a critical gap—noise has been suppressed but rarely interpreted. We outline a future research agenda centered on acoustic variance, spike density, and temporal coupling with operational instability and safety proxies.