The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Context and the Perceived Soundscape: A Grounded Theory Approach.

Background: Studies address excessive sound levels and their adverse effects on infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). However, objective measurements represent merely one aspect of the acoustic environment, and investigations into staff's perceptions of the acoustic environment remain scarce in the NICU context. A holistic approach, soundscape, is needed to explore the acoustic environment in-depth.