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Do Quiet Areas Afford Greater Health-Related Quality of Life than Noisy Areas?

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Shepherd

    (School of Public Health, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 1142, New Zealand)

  • David Welch

    (School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand)

  • Kim N. Dirks

    (School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand)

  • David McBride

    (Department of Preventative and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand)

Abstract

People typically choose to live in quiet areas in order to safeguard their health and wellbeing. However, the benefits of living in quiet areas are relatively understudied compared to the burdens associated with living in noisy areas. Additionally, research is increasingly focusing on the relationship between the human response to noise and measures of health and wellbeing, complementing traditional dose-response approaches, and further elucidating the impact of noise and health by incorporating human factors as mediators and moderators. To further explore the benefits of living in quiet areas, we compared the results of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaire datasets collected from households in localities differentiated by their soundscapes and population density: noisy city, quiet city, quiet rural, and noisy rural. The dose-response relationships between noise annoyance and HRQOL measures indicated an inverse relationship between the two. Additionally, quiet areas were found to have higher mean HRQOL domain scores than noisy areas. This research further supports the protection of quiet locales and ongoing noise abatement in noisy areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Shepherd & David Welch & Kim N. Dirks & David McBride, 2013. "Do Quiet Areas Afford Greater Health-Related Quality of Life than Noisy Areas?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:10:y:2013:i:4:p:1284-1303:d:24610
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniel Shepherd & David Welch & Kim N. Dirks & Renata Mathews, 2010. "Exploring the Relationship between Noise Sensitivity, Annoyance and Health-Related Quality of Life in a Sample of Adults Exposed to Environmental Noise," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 7(10), pages 1-16, October.
    2. Bjørn Grinde & Grete Grindal Patil, 2009. "Biophilia: Does Visual Contact with Nature Impact on Health and Well-Being?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 6(9), pages 1-12, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Shan Shu & Hui Ma, 2019. "Restorative Effects of Classroom Soundscapes on Children’s Cognitive Performance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Sebastian Bernat & Karolina Trykacz & Jakub Skibiński, 2022. "Landscape Perception and the Importance of Recreation Areas for Students during the Pandemic Time," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-22, August.
    3. Yijun Zeng & Brian Deal & Susan Ask & Tianchen Huang, 2024. "The Landscape of Tranquility in Sweden: Lessons for Urban Design from Crowdsourced Data and Deep Learning," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, April.
    4. Gunnar Cerwén & Frans Mossberg, 2019. "Implementation of Quiet Areas in Sweden," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-18, January.
    5. Karin Trimmel & Julia Schätzer & Michael Trimmel, 2014. "Acoustic Noise Alters Selective Attention Processes as Indicated by Direct Current (DC) Brain Potential Changes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, September.
    6. Shilun Zhang & Xiaolong Zhao & Zixi Zeng & Xuan Qiu, 2019. "The Influence of Audio-Visual Interactions on Psychological Responses of Young People in Urban Green Areas: A Case Study in Two Parks in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-14, May.
    7. Francisco Guijarro, 2019. "Assessing the Impact of Road Traffic Externalities on Residential Price Values: A Case Study in Madrid, Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-13, December.
    8. Angel M. Dzhambov & Iana Markevych & Boris Tilov & Zlatoslav Arabadzhiev & Drozdstoj Stoyanov & Penka Gatseva & Donka D. Dimitrova, 2018. "Lower Noise Annoyance Associated with GIS-Derived Greenspace: Pathways through Perceived Greenspace and Residential Noise," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-15, July.
    9. Daniel Shepherd & Kim Dirks & David Welch & David McBride & Jason Landon, 2016. "The Covariance between Air Pollution Annoyance and Noise Annoyance, and Its Relationship with Health-Related Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, August.
    10. Robert Thorne & Daniel Shepherd, 2013. "Quiet as an Environmental Value: A Contrast between Two Legislative Approaches," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-19, July.
    11. Daniel Shepherd & Marja Heinonen-Guzejev & Kauko Heikkilä & Kim N. Dirks & Michael J. Hautus & David Welch & David McBride, 2015. "The Negative Affect Hypothesis of Noise Sensitivity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, May.
    12. Trudeau, Christopher & King, Nicholas & Guastavino, Catherine, 2023. "Investigating sonic injustice: A review of published research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    13. Mercede Erfanian & Andrew J. Mitchell & Jian Kang & Francesco Aletta, 2019. "The Psychophysiological Implications of Soundscape: A Systematic Review of Empirical Literature and a Research Agenda," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-20, September.
    14. Nicola Mucci & Veronica Traversini & Chiara Lorini & Simone De Sio & Raymond P. Galea & Guglielmo Bonaccorsi & Giulio Arcangeli, 2020. "Urban Noise and Psychological Distress: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-22, September.
    15. Francesco Aletta & Tin Oberman & Jian Kang, 2018. "Associations between Positive Health-Related Effects and Soundscapes Perceptual Constructs: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-15, October.

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    Keywords

    quiet; noise; quality of life;
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