Investigating Sonic Experiences In Care Facilities Through Quality-Of-Life Domains: Design And Validation Of The Se-Ql Subjective Assessment Tool

Abstract

The sonic environment is important in influencing quality of life (QL), influencing comfort, health, social interaction, and productivity. For older adults residing in residential care facilities (RCFs), acoustic conditions influence multiple dimensions of QL across four domains: physical, psychological, social, and environmental. However, measuring how sonic experiences contribute to QL in these settings remains challenging, with no integrated assesment tools available. This study was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, we conducted a review of 36 studies and analyzed the questionnaires they employed. We categorized the questions into signal-related (SR) and noise-related (NR) types, revealed four limitations: (1) lack of studies directly focusing on RCFs; (2) absence of questionnaires that integrate sonic experiences with broader QL domains; (3) inconsistencies in evaluation approaches; and (4) limited datasets. Based on these findings, the second phase developed a new assessment tool, the integrated Sonic Experience with Quality of Life (SE-QL) questionnaire, designed to combine sonic and QL dimensions. SE-QL integrates sonic and QL domains, avoiding biases towards extreme responses, and includes question types. Furthermore, it offers a balanced approach to investigating the positive and negative aspects of the sonic environment. In the third phase, we evaluated the sonic experiences of 45 participants in an RCF using the SE-QL tool. This evaluation was complemented by objective acoustic measurements. Results showed no significant associations between sonic experience scores and age and gender. We also studied the effect of, the Environmental domain, on the other QL domains. Environmental domain scores from the SE-QL questionnaire were strong predictors of the other three QL domains: Physical domain (beta = 0.31, SE = 0.13, p = .025; R2 = .11), Social domain (beta = 0.59, SE = 0.12, p < .001; R2 = .35), and Psychological domain (beta = 0.56, SE = 0.12, p < .001; R2 = .33). Physical and Social domains were also closely connected. These findings show that the sonic environment is closely linked to QL outcomes and that the SE-QL provides a structured approach to evaluating this relationship in RCFs.