PONE-D-22-27631The experience of noise in communication-intense workplaces: a qualitative studyPLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments (if provided):

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: N/A

Reviewer #2: N/A

Reviewer #3: N/A

Reviewer #4: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: No

Reviewer #4: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: A small editorial comment for the proof reader: Line 100 need to change the word 'of' to 'on' (cf. line 395)

Despite a small sample size (16 participants among four sites) inherent with much bias ie. selected study sites, volunteer participants, some participants were from a site where a noise study had previously been conducted, different interviewers with potentially different methods of interviewing) the study is relevant and the outcomes actionable. The study protocol is not complex and could be replicated in other settings with modifications. The thematic analysis approach focused the results into areas of information applicable to actual situations. The results were largely based on offerings from front line workers and less on interviews with managers who could provide solutions from an administration perspective The paper did not provide examples of interview questions or if they differed between focus groups, ie. front line versus managers. The paper includes an extensive citation of related, fairly recent publications for further exploration on this topic.

Reviewer #2: Reviewer comments

The authors present information on an interesting topic

Below are a few comments for consideration

Methods

• Table 1 is unclear. Were participants interviewed more than once?

• How many people were in each focus group discussion?

• Were managers also interviewed with focus group discussions?

• In places were there was only one manager what approach was used in data collection?

Ethics

• Authors should provide a more detailed ethical consideration information. Was permission sort from facility management? Was permission obtained from any other body before entry into the facility granted? How was confidentiality assured?

Discussion

• The second part of the aim is not clearly addressed in the discussion. What do all these findings mean? What factors did authors identify to guide tailored interventions in these settings?

Strengths and limitations

• Though state as a limitation, why was focus group discussion approach used instead of in-depth interviews given that the numbers involved in each site were very few?

• How did authors ensure that the presence of other work colleagues didn’t influence their opinion?

• How was triangulation of findings done?

Reviewer #3: This is a good piece of research that I enjoyed reading. It is well written and represents an original research.

Nevertheless, I have just a few comments on the work.

1. Table 1: give a definition for KG and for SW, as a footnote beneath the table. A table should be self-explanatory without referral to the text to understand its content.

2. The sample used was a convenience sample, where only people who volunteered to participate were included. This introduces selection bias to the study. This should be addressed as a limitation of the current study.

3. In the data collection process, several researchers participated in interviewing participants. This can easily introduce interviewer bias into the study. Since different information can be elicited from different participants depending on the differences between interviewers in the way they perform the interview. This has been mentioned by the author as a strength in the discussion, but I see this as a limitation.

Although data have not been made fully available, this has been explained by the author with convincing rationale.

Reviewer #4: Thank you for the opportunity to review this article which is an interesting manuscript.

The theme of this article is very important.

The title is clear, and the abstract covers the main aspect of the

The authors may need to provide some additional information on how participants were recruited and how they decided a number of participants were sufficient for the statistical analysis in this study. What sampling strategy did they use? How did they manage to obtain a representative sample in the end? The authors may need to give more information about the content of the interviews. They did not tell the readers what questions they asked in interviews

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Helen Bangura, MHSc

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: No

Reviewer #4: No

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The experience of noise in communication-intense workplaces: a qualitative study

PONE-D-22-27631R1

Dear Dr. Gyllensten,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Mohammad Hossein Ebrahimi

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments: