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

Sofia Temam, a researcher at the Foundation, presented the results of her research on occupational noise exposure and its impact on the health of teachers in France—based on data from the ESTER-CONSTANCES study—at the European Public Health Congress, which took place November 8–11 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 10 employees in other occupational sectors). In elementary education, the figure is nearly one in two. Furthermore, the results suggest that this noise exposure 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.