Coping and caregiving: Leveraging environmental design to moderate stress among healthcare workers in the emergency department setting
2023
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 16
Pages 261-277
Author(s): Bosch, S. J., Valipoor, S., Alakshendra, A., De Portu, G., Mohammadigorji, S., Rittenbacher, D., Black, K., Calienes, E.
Research demonstrates that healthcare work is demanding and emergency departments (EDs) are known to be particularly stressful. There is a lack of information about relationships between the built environment and the behaviors clinicians use to cope with work-related stress.
Added February 2023
The Role of the Physical Environment in the Hospital of the 21st Century: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity
2004
The Center for Health Design
Report
Author(s): Ulrich, R. S., Zimring, C., Quan, X., Joseph, A., Choudhary, R.
Added December 2022
Impact of the soundscape on the physical health and the perception of senior adults in senior care facilities
2023
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 16
Pages 155-173
Author(s): Mu, J., Wu, Y., Wang, T.
Research shows that conditions of the indoor environment can affect human perception, satisfaction, and health. Senior adults tend to spend more time indoors such that the soundscape of the indoor environment (acoustics), may influence their health.
Added November 2022
Influence of soundscape and interior design on anxiety and perceived tranquillity of patients in a healthcare setting
2016
Applied Acoustics
Journal Article
Issue Supplement C
Volume 104
Pages 135-141
Author(s): Watts, G., Khan, A., Pheasant, R.
The authors open their paper with a brief introduction on tranquil spaces and their relevance in a healthcare setting – improved hospital recovery rates, stress reduction, and more. According to the authors, tranquil spaces are spaces having a pleasant and calming effect – typically natural environments – specifically defined by low manmade sounds. The authors allude to the necessity of creating...
Added September 2017
The ability of environmental healthcare design strategies to impact event related anxiety in pediatric patients: A comprehensive systematic review
Author(s): Norton-Westwood, D.
Healthcare settings such as hospitals or dentists’ offices have been known to contribute to the anxiety often experienced by patients receiving treatment. Anxiety has been linked to various health concerns, manifesting both physiologically and psychologically, that can result in prolonged hospital stays and other complications.
Added June 2016
Sleep in Hospitalized Elders: A Pilot Study
2012
Geriatric Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 31
Pages 263-172
Author(s): Missildine, K., Bergstrom, N., Meininger, J., Richards, K. & Foreman, M. D.
Sleep complaints are common among elders at home and in the hospital. These complaints include insomnia, difficulty falling sleep, and difficulty maintaining sleep, yet adequate sleep is commonly considered a necessary prerequisite to healing and recovery from illness.
Added January 2016
Eye Masks and Earplugs Improve Patient’s Perception of Sleep
2012
Nursing in Critical Care
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 17
Pages 247-235
Author(s): Jones, C. & Dawson, D.
Sleep disruption is commonly identified as a feature of admission to critical care units. The environment, level of intervention, and patient morbidity are understood to influence patients’ poor experiences of sleep in critical care. This study discusses the impact of the built environment on Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients’ sleep.
Added January 2016
Impact of NICU design on environmental noise
2014
Journal of Neonatal Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 20
Pages 77-81
Author(s): Szymczak, S. E., Shellhaas, R. A.
Literature shows that preterm infants can be adversely affected by sounds in a hospital. Yet completely quiet environments may potentially limit a much-needed exposure to language. This presents a challenge to designing an optimal sound environment in NICUs. This study examined the acoustic variance in open bay and single room NICUs and found that there was little variability in the acoustic environment of the two NICU models. It also found that the single room NICU had longer periods of silence than the open bay NICU.
Added July 2015
The effect of changes in servicescape and service quality perceptions in a maternity unit
2011
International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 24
Pages 389-405
Author(s): Holder, M., Berndt, A.
Quality of service in healthcare is pertinent to patient experience and satisfaction, and can impact customer (patient) loyalty, cost savings, profits and market share of the healthcare facility. The authors indicate that the servicescape, or the physical environment of a facility, has an impact on a patient’s perception of the quality of service.
Added May 2015
A companionship between strangers – the hospital environment as a challenge in patient–patient interaction in oncology wards
2014
Journal of Advanced Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 70
Pages 395-404
Author(s): Larsen, L. S., Larsen, B. H., Birkelund, R.
The authors allude to existing literature indicating the healing and therapeutic effect of hospital environments and the increasing evidence between healthcare environments and patient outcomes. In this study the authors explore through observations and interviews of patients how the hospital environment impacts the interaction between hospitalized cancer patients.
Added May 2015
Nurses’ Perception of Single-Occupancy Versus Multioccupancy Rooms in Acute Care Environments: An Exploratory Comparative Assessment
2006
Applied Nursing Research
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 19
Pages 118-125
Author(s): Chaudhury, H., Mahmood, A., Valente, M.
As people are living longer and the baby boomers age, the demand for hospital beds will increase. As new facilities are built to handle this influx of patients, the challenge for hospital designers and administrators is to design patient rooms that promote therapeutic goals, foster positive patient outcomes, and function as intensive care rooms. Recent research suggests that single-occupancy rooms are more suitable for infection control and patient care than multioccupancy rooms. However, no research has been done about nursing staff members’ perception of single-occupancy and multioccupancy patient rooms in acute care settings as it relates to patient care.
Added April 2014
Clinical review: The impact of noise on patients’ sleep and the effectiveness of noise reduction strategies in intensive care units
2009
Critical Care
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 13
Pages 208–216
Author(s): Xie, H., Kang, J., Mills, G. H.
The World Health Organization recommends that noise levels in hospitals stay below 30 dBA at night to allow for better rest, yet excessive noise is prevalent in many healthcare settings, including intensive care units (ICUs). Research indicates that, since the 1960s, noise levels in hospitals increased by an average of 0.38 dBA (day) and 0.42 dBA (night) per year. Other research reports that the noise level in ICUs ranges from 50 to 75 dBA, with a night peak level soaring to 103 dBA. It’s easy to see why sleep disturbance is common among these vulnerable patients.
Added February 2014
Nurses’ Perceptions of How physical Environment Affects Medication Errors in Acute Care Settings
2011
Applied Nursing Research
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 24
Pages 229–237
Author(s): Mahmood, A., Chaudhury, H., Valente, M.
Medication errors in hospitals occur for a number of reasons, stemming from staff and organizational issues to aspects of the physical environment. Errors include omissions, giving the wrong type or amount of medication, and giving the wrong patient unneeded medication. Research has indicated that a significant amount of these errors are avoidable.
Added February 2014
Servicescape: Physical environment of hospital pharmacies and hospital pharmacists’ work outcomes
2008
Health Care Management Review
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 33
Pages 156-168
Author(s): Lin, B.Y.-J., Leu, W.-J., Breen, G.-M., Lin, W.-H.
Researchers have studied the healthcare work environment from a number of angles, from an organizational behavior perspective honing in on motivation and reward, to an occupational and environmental perspective concerned with comfort and ergonomics, to a pathogenic perspective interested in exposure to disease. The idea of a “servicescape” has arisen in healthcare marketing to investigate the impact of the physical environment of service settings on employees’ psychological states and perceptions.
Added February 2014
Characteristics of the Nighttime Hospital Bedside Care Environment (Sound, Light, and Temperature) for Children With Cancer
2011
Cancer Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 34
Pages 176-185
Author(s): Linder, L. A., Christian, B. J.
Children with cancer have a lot to cope with aside from their disease and its treatment. Often, they are in unfamiliar healthcare environments that may be too noisy or bright to facilitate uninterrupted sleep. However, not much is known about the sound and light levels in either pediatric or adult inpatient oncology units.
Added January 2014
The sound environment in an ICU patient room—a content analysis of sound levels and patient experiences
2012
Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
Journal Article
Author(s): Johansson, L., Bergbom, I., Wayeb, K. P., Ryherd, E., Lindahl, B.
This study was a prestudy for the planning and design of a larger one, where the aim is to investigate the relationship between sound (objective and subjective) and adult intensive care unit (ICU) delirium and/or other factors. It used sound measurement, behavioral observation, and interview methods. The results provide a good list of sound/noise impact on patients and subsequent ICU design considerations.
Added January 2014
Effects of music therapy on women’s physiologic measures, anxiety, and satisfaction during cesarean delivery.
2005
Research in Nursing and Health
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 28
Pages 453-461
Author(s): Chang, S-C., Chen, C-H.
Due to many factors Taiwan has a high rate of cesarean birth deliveries. Childbirth causes high stress in women. In case of cesarean birth such stress increases because it is a major surgery. For many women cesarean birth has negative emotional consequences. Music therapy, the systematic application of music to aid in the treatment of physiological and psychological aspects of an illness or disability, has been shown in multiple studies to help reduce anxiety and stress, distract attention and increase threshold of pain during painful procedures. Music therapy has the potential to help women recover from cesarean deliveries.
Added October 2012
The Effect of Environmental Design on Reducing Nursing and Medication Errors in Acute Care Settings
2007
The Center for Health Design CHER
Report
Author(s): Chaudhury, H.P., Mahmood, A.P.
Added October 2012
Altering the NICU and measuring infants' responses
2000
Acta Paediatrica
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 89
Pages 577-81
Author(s): Slevin, M., Farrington, N., Duffy, G., Daly, L., Murphy, J.F.
Added October 2012
Caregivers' Evaluation on Hospitalized Children's Preferences Concerning Garden and Ward
2005
Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 4
Pages 331-338
Author(s): Said, I., Salleh, S.S., Abu Bakar, M.S., Mohamad, I.
Added October 2012
