A Pilot Study on Daylight, View and Stress in Operating Room Personnel: the DasOK Study

Abstract

Abstract A Pilot Study on Daylight, View and Stress in Operating Room Personnel: the DasOK Study

Background: Healthy work environments are important in healthcare, to maintain happy staff and to prevent turnover. Access to daylight and exterior view (e.g. nature, air, buildings etc.) in the workplace could lead to a decrease in stress and improvement in mood. Previous research has predominantly been performed labs or office settings, and substantially less in healthcare. Very few studies have focussed on operating room personnel. Furthermore, the studies performed in other occupations need to be validated for operating room personnel. Aim: The aim of this pilot study is to find scientific evidence for the effect of access to daylight and exterior view on stress and wellbeing in operating room personnel. Methods: This study comprises a cross-sectional survey and a within-subjects repeated-measures crossover trial in the field. Results: Perceived stress is found to be significantly lower in an environment with access to daylight and an exterior view. Access to such a view reduced the number of hours of sleep needed in spring and the number of occasions participants awoke during the night. These results were not confirmed by data from the trial. Conclusion: Although this study did not show significant differences in heartrate variability as an objective measure of stress, the subjective experience of stress influenced by an exterior view and daylight should be acknowledged and dealt with to help nursing staff lower their stress levels and provide high quality of care. Implication of key findings: Future research should separate the effect of exterior view on stress from the effect of daylight on stress. Virtual windows should be investigated, to research the possibilities of these windows in facilities where regular windows are not feasible.