Nurse odor perception in various Japanese hospital settings

Because unpleasant hospital odors affect the nursing environment,we investigated nurses'perceptions of the odors of various hospital settings:hospital rooms,nurse stations,and human waste disposal rooms to discard the urine,stools and diapers.A questionnaire based on the Japanese Ministry of the Environment's guidelines on odor index regulation was used to assess nurses'perceptions of odor intensity,comfort,tolerability,and description in the aforementioned settings.Questionnaires were distributed to nursing department directors at three Japanese hospitals,who then disseminated the questionnaires to nursing staff.Of the 1,151 questionnaires distributed,496 nurses participated.Human waste disposal rooms had greater odor intensity and were perceived as more uncomfortable than the other settings.Unpleasant odors in disposal rooms,hospital rooms,and nurse stations were rated as slightly intolerable in comparison.Hospital and disposal rooms were mainly described as having a“pungent odor such as of urine and stool.”In contrast,nurse stations were described as having other unpleasant odors,such as chemical,human-body-related,or sewage-like odors.Given that nurses spend much of their time in hospital rooms and nurse stations,odor management in these two settings would likely improve nurses'working conditions at hospitals.Improving odors at nurse stations is feasible.Such improvements could have indirect effects on nurse turnover and burnout.

A preliminary study on volatile organic compounds and odor in university dormitories:Situation,contribution,and correlation

Many dormitories have a high population density,and occupants exposed to volatile organic compounds(VOCs)could suffer severe physical and mental issues,so it is important to ensure good indoor air quality(IAQ).Currently,indoor VOC analysis using only chemical concentration cannot accurately reflect the effect of odor on human comfort.Therefore,the sensory evaluation of indoor odor acts as a supplementary method for an IAQ assessment.Here,we measured indoor VOC concentrations in 10 dormitories under occupied and unoccupied conditions.The contribution of building materials and human-related emissions was analyzed.An odor activity value(OAV)was calculated using the VOC concentration and odorant threshold.In addition,recruited sensory odor panel members assessed the odor intensity of each dormitory and the correlation between odor intensity and chemical measurements was analyzed.The indoor total VOC(TVOC)concentration under occupied conditions ranged from 242.2 to 1063.1μg/m^(3),with a mean value of 454.1μg/m^(3).The TVOC concentration under unoccupied conditions varied from 97.2 to 1055.2μg/m^(3),with a mean value of 342.2μg/m^(3).The TVOC concentration of 90% of the dormitories under the two conditions met the national IAQ standards.An average of 53.6% indoor TVOC emissions are related to building materials,the outdoor-related TVOC concentration accounts for 15.7%,and the average human-related TVOC emissions are 1519.4μg/(h·person),which accounts for 30.7%.Compared to TVOC concentration,odor intensity-OAV(OAV_(sum),OAV_(max))could better characterize subjective and objective correlations.However,the goodness-of-fit is not satisfactory.Weber–Fencher's law has limitations in characterizing the correlation between odor intensity and OAV when applied to the indoor air mixture,based on this small-scale study.