The Acoustic Environment of Care Homes: Case Studies from China

This book examines the indoor acoustic environment of China’s care homes. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the current situation in China’s care homes. This includes the distribution, size, demand, and future development direction of these facilities. The chapter then presents an in-depth introduction and analysis of the indoor environment of these facilities, especially the acoustic environment. In Chapter 2, a case study and site investigation are described, and these are used to analyse the current state of the acoustic environment in these facilities, including the sound pressure level (SPL) and reverberation time (RT). Chapter 3 details the perceptions of the elderly regarding the acoustic environment of care homes and the correlation between the sound environment and other physical environments at the facilities. Chapter 4 presents the impact of the acoustic environment on the well-being of elderly residents and an analysis of the effects of different sound sources on the activities of the elderly. The effects of the acoustic environment on physiological indices of the elderly under different sound sources in care homes are analysed in Chapter 5. Finally, in Chapter 6, certain improvement strategies for the indoor acoustic environment of care homes are proposed based on the analysis. This book is a comprehensive exposition of research on the acoustic environment of care homes in China, and is useful reading for researchers in acoustics, architecture, design, engineering, and healthcare facilities. It could also be used as a scientific introduction for readers interested in this field.

Jingyi Mu is an Associate Professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology. She specializes in research on architectural environments for elderly care facilities and has a solid research foundation in this field. He has published over 20 journal articles and has led or participated in seven international cooperation projects and national natural science foundation projects.

Jian Kang is a Professor of Acoustics and Soundscape at University College London (UCL), where he also serves as the head of the Acoustics Group. He has a profound research foundation in acoustics and is a recipient of the prestigious Advanced ERC Grant Award. Currently, he is internationally renowned for his work on developing soundscape indices.