“Teachers’ Health: What Are the Implications of Noise in Schools?” (Wednesdays of Knowledge)

Sofia Temam, a researcher at the Foundation, presented the findings of her study on occupational noise exposure and its impact on teachers’ health in France—based on data from the ESTER-CONSTANCES study—at the European Public Health Congress, which took place from November 8 to 11 in Dublin.

This study shows that teachers are particularly exposed to noise in the workplace. On average, one in three teachers reports being exposed to noise at work (compared to one in ten employees in other occupational sectors). In primary education, the figure is nearly one in two. Furthermore, the results suggest that this exposure to noise has negative effects on their perceived health and mental health. These initial findings underscore the importance for teachers’ health of taking into account short- and long-term exposure to this environmental factor—which is relatively underestimated in France—in public health prevention policies.