Assessment of Illumination Levels in Healthcare Facilities in Makurdi Metropolis

Abstract

In this study, the illumination levels in some selected health care facilities in Makurdi Metropolis were assessed. The illumination levels at laboratories, nursing stations, postnatal recovery area, medication stations, patients' rooms, pharmacies and the surgical suite (operating rooms) of Bishop Murray Medical Centre (BMMC), Family Support Hospital (FSH), General Hospital North Bank (GHNB), Multi-Care Hospital (MCH) and Benue State University Teaching Hospital(BSUTH) were measured with luxmeter (LX101) in conformity to The British Standard specifications, BS 667:2005. Results reveal that for medication stations, examination and treatment rooms, surgical suites(operating room) and postnatal ward all the health care facilities failed as their illumination levels were below the IESNA standards of 807 Lx, 1615 Lx, 1615 Lx and 807 Lx respectively. However, only BSUTH conformed with the illumination requirement for laboratories, nursing stations and patients' rooms. In general the illumination levels in the health care facilities are very poor. Monitoring of illumination or lighting in health care facilities before and after licensure, establishment regulatory bodies like IES to ensure implementation of illumination standards in health care centers by the Federal Ministry of Health, use of low energy bulbs for luminaries instead of the usual tungsten-filament bulbs in hospitals and studies on the effect of health facility architecture on the illumination level are recommended.