assessment of noise and associated health impacts at selected secondary schools in ibadan, nigeria噪声的评估和相关的健康影响在伊巴丹选择中学,尼日利亚.pdfVIP

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Environmental and Public Health Volume 2009, Article ID 739502, 6 pages doi:10.1155/2009/739502 Research Article Assessment of Noise and Associated Health Impacts at Selected Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Nigeria Godson R. E. E. Ana,1 Derek G. Shendell,2, 3, 4 G. E. Brown,1 and M. K. C. Sridhar1 1 College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria 2 Institute of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302-3995, USA 3 Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA 4 Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Derek G. Shendell, shendedg@ Received 28 April 2009; Accepted 24 July 2009 Recommended by David O. Carpenter Background. Most schools in Ibadan, Nigeria, are located near major roads (mobile line sources). We conducted an initial assessment of noise levels and adverse noise-related health and learning effects. Methods. For this descriptive, cross-sectional study, four schools were selected randomly from eight participating in overall project. We administered 200 questionnaires, 50 per school, assessing health and learning-related outcomes. Noise levels (A-weighted decibels, dBA) were measured with calibrated sound level meters. Traffic density was assessed for school with the highest measured dBA. Observational checklists assessed noise control parameters and building physical attributes. Results. Short-term, cross-sectional school-day noise levels ranged 68.3–84.7 dBA. Over 60% of respondents reported that vehicular traffic