Upcoming Research Reports & Papers

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Contribution of the Design Environment to Fall Risk in Hospitals

Principal Investigator, Margaret Calkins, Ph.D. of Ideas Institute, was awarded funds through The Center for Health Design's Research Coalition in May 2009.  This research project will run through the beginning of 2011, with a report published around March 2011.

Patient falls are the most common adverse event that is reported in acute care settings, affecting from between 2% to 10% of annual hospital admissions (Hendrich, Nyhuis, Kippenbrock, & Soja, 1995).  Patient falls in healthcare settings caused increased morbidity, mortality, increases length of stay, and have significant cost impacts.

Because of the lack of validated environmental assessment instruments related to falls, the first phase of the project will use a Delphi process to develop a reliable and valid falls environment evaluation tool (FEET). Once developed, it will be used to assess the environment in at least 30 hospital units to examine the differential role the environment plays in falls.  It is hypothesized that there will be fewer falls and less serious injuries from falls in patient rooms that have more fall-related supportive features and fewer fall-related environmental risk factors.  This project seeks to provide concrete and practical information on building design and materials that impact falls and injury from falls in healthcare settings.

Improving the Waiting Experience in the Emergency Department:  A Two Phase Study

Principal Investigator, Upali Nanda, Ph.D. of American Art Resources, was awarded funds through The Center for Health Design's Research Coalition in May 2009.  This research project will run through the beginning of March 2010, with a report published around November 2010.

The aim of the study is to advance the theory and practice of the use of visual images in healthcare art and design, with a focus on improving the waiting experience of patients in the emergency department. A two-phase study on the identification and implementation of appropriate visual imagery for emergency department waiting rooms will be utilized as the study design:

Phase 1:  A literature review on the existing evidence on stress reducing visual imagery, with new insights from the field of neuroscience, as relevant to the emotional experience of waiting in the emergency department (ED).

Phase 2:  Application of findings of the literature review by designing visual intervention conditions for 2 emergency departments in the Houston area, and analyzing the impact on patient experience via observational studies and analysis of survey data in pre-post research design.

A comprehensive report providing a summary of the literature, matrix of reviewed studies, findings from case-studies, and recommendations for healthcare designers will be compiled.  The cross-disciplinary team involved in the project will include experts on healthcare art and design, healthcare administrators, research scholars from the cognitive sciences, and clinical research personnel from the hospital.

Annual Survey on Design Research in Healthcare Settings
This survey is closed, and results are being analyzed.

The Center for Health Design and corporate partner, Herman Miller, is conducting the first annual survey to gauge how design research has affected the healthcare industry. 

While the notion of using research about the built environment has grown significantly over the last few years, we do not know how much this is being translated into the design of new healthcare facilities. 

•  Are most healthcare projects using design research? 
• Is this an accepted process? 
• Are those planning facilities coming up with innovative design solutions to address key safety and quality issues in healthcare settings? 
• Are the impacts being measured?

Eligible participants included architecture and interior design teams, medical planners, hospital executives, project management executives, developers, facility managers, physicians, nurses and even patients.

Evidence Based Design meets Evidence Based Medicine:  Human Studies for Validating New Acoustic Guidelines for Healthcare Facilities Using a Collaborative and Trans-Disciplinary Approach for Improving Patient Outcomes

December 2008

CHD Research Coalition Paper

CHD CHER in partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), the Academy of Architecture for Health Foundation (AAHF) and the Facilities Guidelines Institute (FGI).  This study, conducted by The Cambridge Health Alliance in collaboration with Harvard Medical Schools addresses issues related to the acoustical design of healthcare facilities.

"Until recently, controlling noise and improving speech privacy were seldom emphasized when assigning design, engineering, and construction priorities.  This shifted abruptly with the July 2006 release of two key Guideline documents.  The 2006 edition of the 60-year-old AIA Guidelines for the Design and Construction of Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities, which becomes code in 42 states and for 7 federal agencies, was released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AIA and AHA."

"In the future, these Guidelines will address acoustic and privacy concerns.  The new Draft Interim Guideline on Acoustics and Privacy for Healthcare Facilities (from the AIA and American Hospitals Association) is currently under peer review.  This guideline formally challenges planners, architects, designers, engineers, and builders to address noise and privacy as critical concerns."  (Solet, Jo, et al, 2007, Proposal).

This study hopes to contribute evidence proving design can improve the acoustical quality of patient rooms.  In addition, investigators aim to provide cost-benefit analyses linking acoustic considerations to improved outcomes.

A National Survey about Critical Issues in Healthcare Environments

CHD Research Coalition Paper

We have conducted a national survey to identify and describe critical issues in healthcare environments - settings for ambulatory, acute, and long-term care. The study is centered on issues and problems which have a bearing on the physical environment. The ultimate goal is to identify important research questions, leading to evidence-based design information.

Philips Ambient Experience Research

We are working with Philips Design to identify 2-3 research projects that will examine the impact of the Philips Ambient Experience program on patient, staff and financial outcomes. The Center’s research team participated in a research workshop with the Phillips staff and are now in the process of short listing some exciting research possibilities.