Low stimulus environments: reducing noise levels in continuing care
2016
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 5
Pages 1-4
Author(s): Brown, J., Fawzi, W., Shah, A., Joyce, M., Holt, G., McCarthy, C., Stevenson, C., Marange, R., Shakes, J., Solomon-Ayeh, K.
This article highlights a project that aimed to reduce levels of intrinsic background noise on an adult mental health ward. Following intervention, the ward was able to decrease the background noise decibel level from 60dB to 53dB (on average).
Added November 2016
Understanding Green Building Design and Healthcare Outcomes: Evidence-Based Design Analysis of an Oncology Unit
2016
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Journal Article
Author(s): Campion, N., Thiel, C. L., Focareta, J., Bilec, M. M.
The United States healthcare industry is a major part of the economy as well as a significant contributor to carbon dioxide emissions and other environmental issues. Green building design (GBD) attempts to offset environmental impacts of buildings, and recently designers have been combining GBD with evidence-based design (EBD) in order to create facilities that positively impact both the external and internal environment.
Added June 2016
Impact of the Physical Environment of Residential Health, Care, and Support Facilities (RHCSF) on Staff and Residents A Systematic Review of the Literature
2015
Environment and Behavior
Journal Article
Issue 10
Volume 48
Pages 1203-1241
Author(s): Joseph, A., Choi, Y.-S., Quan, X.
Strategies related to the design of the built environment should be considered within the context of the culture of the organization and the resident population. This study of the physical environment of residential health, care, and support facilities addresses the range of settings and population, where other studies have been lacking. The literature review strongly suggests that the built environment is an important component of care provided in residential care settings.
Added May 2016
Adapting to Family-Centered Hospital Design: Changes in Providers’ Attitudes over a Two-Year Period
2009
Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 3
Pages 79-96
Author(s): France, D., Throop, P., Joers, B., Allen, L., Parekh, A., Rickard, D., Deshpande, J.
Although hospitals are being designed based on evidence-based design principles, it’s unclear how working in such an environment influences providers’ attitudes and professional performance.
Added January 2016
Making acuity-adaptable units work: lessons from the field
2012
Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 5
Pages 115-128
Author(s): Zimring, C., Seo, H.
Acuity-Adaptable Units (AAUs) are rooms with a treatment model that allows all stages of patient care to come to the patient’s unit from the time of admission to discharge. Minimizing the amount of patient transfers helps decrease medication errors, infection rates, and medical complications. This helps avoid injuries and infections connected with patient transfers from unit to unit through transitions in stages of care.
Added January 2016
Leading Change During an Inpatient Critical Care Unit Expansion
2008
Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 11
Volume 38
Pages 461-467
Author(s): Braungardt, T. & Fought, S. G.
Acute care hospitals are changing rapidly to address economic and technologic advancements and meet community needs. The authors describe one medical center’s use of Kotter’s work on leading change to expand the neuroscience intensive care unit from 10 to 30 beds to meet community needs, improve hospital efficiencies, and increase bed capacity.
Added January 2016
A Conceptual Model for Healthcare Facility Design
2014
Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 44
Pages 321-325
Author(s): Stichler, J. F.
This study article presents a conceptual model to explain the interrelationships among healthcare design elements.
Added January 2016
Using Lean-Based Systems Engineering to Increase Capacity in the Emergency Department
2014
Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 7
Volume 15
Pages 770-776
Author(s): White, B., Chang, Y., Grabowski, B., Brown, D.
Emergency department (ED) crowding is a widespread issue that causes a multitude of negative effects on patient care quality, safety, and efficiency. Lean-based systems engineering, which is often used for industrial manufacturing, is a method for eliminating all forms of waste (including wasted time and other resources) to optimize productivity. Recent studies have begun to demonstrate the use of systems engineering and improvement science on streamlining processes and improving throughput in different medical capacities, but an opportunity remains to refine the application of these tools within EDs in particular.
Added December 2015
Realizing improved patient care through human-centered operating room design: A human factors methodology for observing flow disruptions in the cardiothoracic operating room
2013
Anesthesiology
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 119
Pages 1066-1077
Author(s): Palmer, G., Abernathy, J. H., Swinton, G., Allison, D., Greenstein, J., Shappell, S., Juang, K., Reeves, S. T.
The authors indicate that disruptions in the workflow of surgeries can extend surgery times and contribute to the escalation of healthcare costs.
Added March 2015
Patient Safety in the Cardiac Operating Room: Human Factors and Teamwork A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
2013
Circulation
Journal Article
Issue 10
Volume 128
Pages 1139-1169
Author(s): Wahr, J. A., Prager, R. L., Abernathy, J. H., Martinez, E. A., Salas, E., Seifert, P. C., Groom, R. C., Spiess, B. D., Searles, B. E., Sundt, T. M., Sanchez, J. A., Shappell, S. A., Culig, M. H., Lazzara, E. H., Fitzgerald, D. C., Thourani, V. H., Eghtesady, P., Ikonomidis, J. S., England, M. R., Sellke, F. W., Nussmeier, N. A.
The cardiac surgical operating room is a complex environment, where patient lives are saved or considerably improved with the help of sophisticated equipment and skilled personnel. Although outcomes are improving, adverse events still occur, many of which are preventable. This statement is the result of a review of literature that presented evidence on patient safety and interventions that worked in enhancing patient safety in the cardiac OR.
Added March 2015
Including patients, staff and visitors in the design of the psychiatric milieu
2013
Facilities
Journal Article
Issue 9/10
Volume 31
Pages 379-390
Author(s): Perkins, N. H.
Most research addressing environmental design for healthcare facilities focuses on expert-determined and expert-driven outcomes. Little attention has been given to the perspectives offered by those who are ultimately using the facilities, namely the patients, staff, and visitors. Participatory design and planning (PDP) is a method that takes these non-expert opinions into consideration while operating under three assumptions. First, healthcare facilities are complex environments that require a team of people who can understand and maintain structured information necessary for optimum design.
Added December 2014
The effects of physical environments in medical wards on medication communication processes affecting patient safety
2014
Health & Place
Journal Article
Author(s): Liu, W., Manias, E., Gerdtz, M.
The physical environment of a hospital has a wide range of effects on the quality of care administered to patients. In the context of medication distribution, seamless communication among healthcare professionals of different backgrounds is imperative, and in many cases the physical environment itself can have positive or negative effects on this complex process.
Added November 2014
Quality of life and building design in residential and nursing homes for older people
2004
Ageing and Society
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 24
Pages 941-962
Author(s): Parker, C., Barnes, S., McKee, K., Morgan, K., Torrington, J., Tregenza, P.
Older people living in residential and nursing care homes spend a large proportion of their time within the boundaries of the home, and may depend on the environment to compensate for their physical or cognitive frailties. Regulations and guidelines on the design of care buildings have accumulated over time with little knowledge of their impact on the quality of life of building users. The Design...
Added September 2014
Radical Redesign of Nursing Homes: Applying the Green House Concept in Tupelo, Mississippi
2006
The Gerontologist
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 46
Pages 533-539
Author(s): Rabig, J., Thomas, W., Kane, R. A., Cutler, L. J., McAlilly, S.
The Green House design should be considered as nursing home resident numbers are growing. Early experiences with the “pod-like” structure show positive effects on residents, families, and staff.
Added September 2014
An Evaluation of Operating Room Safety and Efficiency: Pilot Utilization of a Structured Focus Group Format and Three-Dimensional Video Mock-Up To Inform Design Decision Making
2011
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 5
Pages 6-22
Author(s): Watkins, N., Kobelja, M., Peavey, E., Thomas, S., Lyon, J.
While surgical and interventional procedures are the most profitable services within the hospital, the cost of building and maintaining an OR can quickly reduce the profitability of running an OR. Due to this precarious balance of revenue and cost, the planning and design of an OR should look to reduce injury to staff and prevent unnecessary costs, while increasing operational efficiencies.
Added September 2014
Effectiveness of overhead lifting devices in reducing the risk of injury to care staff in extended care facilities
2005
Ergonomics
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 48
Pages 187-199
Author(s): Engst, C., Chhokar, R. , Miller, A., Tate, R. B., Yassi, A.
Healthcare facilities often install mechanical lifts to help staff avoid injuries from patient handling. However, some mechanical lifts require more time and space and are not always as comfortable, safe, and secure as manual patient handling. Few studies have used a prospective controlled design to evaluate the effectiveness of ceiling lifts in reducing risk of musculoskeletal injury to care staff; increasing staff satisfaction; and assessing preferred methods of lifting, transferring, and repositioning residents.
Added April 2014
Environmental evaluation for workplace violence in healthcare and social services
2008
Journal of Safety Research
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 39
Pages 237-50
Author(s): McPhaul, K.M. , Murrett, K., Flannery, K. , Rosen, J., Lipscomb, J., London, M.
The purpose of this project was to contribute specific, evidence–based guidance to the healthcare and social services employer communities regarding the use of environmental design to prevent violence.
Added April 2014
Challenges in Design and Transition to a Private Room Model in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
2006
Advances in Neonatal Care
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 6
Pages 271-280
Author(s): Carlson, B., Walsh, S., Wergin, T., Schwarzkopf, K., Ecklund, S.
The need for neonatal intensive care units (NICU) is increasing at a time when research suggests their designs need to change to provide a developmentally appropriate healing environment. One approach is a private room NICU model versus a large multibed ward. However, such a radical design change could be challenging to implement.
Added April 2014
Impact of Single Family NICU Rooms
2006
The Center for Health Design
Report
Author(s): Harris, D.D. , Shepley, M.M., White,R.
Added October 2012
Designing for Patient Safety: Developing Methods to Integrate Patient Safety Concerns in the Design Process
Author(s): Joseph, A., Taylor, E. M. , Quan, X., Jelen, M.
Added October 2012
