Ergonomics Principles Associated with Laparoscopic Surgeon Injury/Illness
2012
Human Factors
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 54
Pages 1087-1092
Author(s): Miller, K., Benden, M.., Pickens, A., Shipp, A., & Zheng, Q.
Although laparoscopic procedures significantly benefit patients in terms of decreased recovery times and improved outcomes, they contribute to mental fatigue and musculoskeletal problems among surgeons. A variety of ergonomic interventions and applications are implemented by surgeons to reduce health problems.
Added January 2016
The Impact of an Acute Psychiatry Environment on Older Patients and Their Families
2014
Journal of Gerontological Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 20
Pages 1-7
Author(s): Hung, L., Loewen, E., Bindley, B., McLaren, D., Feist, T., & Phinney, A.
There is a lack of research that examines impact of the designed environment on the experience of older adults and their families in healthcare settings.
Added January 2016
On SHiPs and Safety: A Journey of Safe Patient Handling in Pediatrics
2014
Journal of Pediatric Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 29
Pages 641-650
Author(s): Huffman, G. M., Crumrine, J., Thompson, B., Mobley, B., Roth, K. and Roberts, C.
Nursing personnel have repeatedly been ranked among professionals that are most frequently impacted by musculoskeletal injuries. While research in this area has traditionally focused on injuries that occur with adult patients, the growing epidemic of obesity in children makes this a relevant topic to pediatric nurses as well.
Added January 2016
Applying Lean Six Sigma for Innovative Change to the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit
2015
Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 45
Pages 185-187
Author(s): Haenke. R & Stichler, J. F.
This case study outlined the application of the Lean Six Sigma quality improvement framework to a post-anesthesia care unit redesign project.
Added January 2016
Light for Nurses’ Work in the 21st Century: A Review of Lighting, Human Vision Limitations, and Medication Administration
2014
Journal of Nursing Care Quality
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 29
Pages 287-294
Author(s): Graves, K., Symes, L., & Cesario, S. K.
While there has been previous documentation about the impact of the built environment on staff efficiency, little has been documented about the role of architectural lighting on staff’s ability to perform work tasks. The authors cite specific examples of how medications are often distributed on night shifts, sometimes when nurses use pen lights so as not to disturb patients.
Added January 2016
Environmental Congruence and Work-Related Stress in Acute Care Hospital Medical-Surgical Units: A Descriptive, Correlational Study
2011
Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 5
Pages 23-42
Author(s): Dendaas, N.
Nursing is known to be a particularly stressful job, and this often has direct ties to nursing shortages in the United States. Research attempting to better understand hospital nursing work environments has typically focused on social and organizational aspects of the work experience. Yet, the physical environment, which is known to impact work and organizational outcomes, has been studied to a much lesser extent.
Added January 2016
An Empirical Examination of Patient Room Handedness in Acute Medical-Surgical Settings
2010
Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 4
Pages 11-33
Author(s): Pati, D., Cason, C., Harvey Jr., T.E., Evans, J.
The initial cost of designing hospitals with standardized same-handed patient rooms is typically much higher than the cost of hospitals designed with mirror-image configurations. This is because same-handed units require separate utility lines for each patient room rather than shared medical gas lines and bathroom plumbing lines between every two rooms.
Added January 2016
A ‘paperless’ wall-mounted surgical safety checklist with migrated leadership can improve compliance and team engagement
2015
BMJ Quality & Safety
Journal Article
Issue 25
Volume 16
Pages 971-976
Author(s): Ong, A. P. C., Devcich, D. A., Hannam, J., Lee, T., Merry, A. F., Mitchell, S. J.
Added January 2016
Design of patient rooms and automatic radioiodine-131 waste water management system for a thyroid cancer treatment ward: ‘Suandok model’
2014
Journal of Radiological Protection
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 34
Pages 699
Author(s): Vilasdechanon, N., Ua-apisitwong, S., Chatnampet, K., Ekmahachai, M., Vilasdechanon, J.
Added December 2015
Preparing an ICU room to welcome a critically ill patient with Ebola virus disease
2014
Intensive Care Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 41
Pages 118-119
Author(s): Pasquier, P., Ficko, C., Mérens, A., Dubost, C.
Ebola virus disease is a viral hemorrhagic fever that spreads through direct contact with the body fluids of an infected animal or human. Contamination may also occur through contact with items that were recently contacted by infected bodily fluids. No spread of the disease through the air has been documented. As no specific treatment or vaccine for the virus is currently available, specially coordinated medical services are necessary to control outbreaks.
Added December 2015
Outcome of in-patient falls in hospitals with 100% single rooms and multi-bedded wards
2015
Age and Ageing
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 44
Pages 1032-1035
Author(s): Singh, I., Okeke, J., Edwards, C.
Patient falls are a major safety concern in hospitals. The authors report that up to 30% of patient falls result in injury, and that in the National Health Service (NHS) ward of U.K., 200,000 falls a year are documented. Of these, 900 incidents have been severe and 90 had resultant deaths.
Added December 2015
Design, Operation, and Safety of Single-Room Interventional MRI Suites: Practical Experience From Two Centers
2015
Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 41
Pages 34-43
Author(s): White, M. J., Thornton, J. S., Hawkes, D. J., Hill, D. L .G., Kitchen, N., Mancini, L., McEvoy, A. W., Razavi, R., Wilson, S., Yousry, T., Keevil, S. F.
Designing and operating healthcare spaces to accommodate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners presents a variety of challenges. These spaces are often populated with larger amounts of sensitive equipment than typical patient care units, while receiving a nearly equal amount of foot traffic.
Added December 2015
Intensive care unit design and mortality in trauma patients
2014
Journal of Surgical Research
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 190
Pages 640-646
Author(s): Pettit, N. R., Wood, T., Lieber, M., O'Mara, M. S.
A primary concern for many patient care units is the question of where to place more seriously ill patients within the space that is available. Questions regarding the impact of architectural features, such as the availability of natural lighting, or adjacency to nurse stations on patient health outcomes should be further explored so that increasingly effective healthcare environments can be established. Currently, no data exist demonstrating whether trauma patients receiving treatment in intensive care unit (ICU) beds with poor visibility from a central nursing station experience health outcomes different from those in rooms that may be more visible from the nursing station.
Added December 2015
Increasing Throughput: Results from a 42-Hospital Collaborative to Improve Emergency Department Flow
2015
The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
Journal Article
Issue 12
Volume 41
Pages 532–553
Author(s): Zocchi, M. S., McClelland, M. S., Pines, J. M.
The rates of visits to the emergency department (ED) in the U.S. have grown in the last 10 years. According to the authors, attempts to decrease crowding in the EDs have been largely through improving the flow, which has been challenged by several factors including inconsistency in the demand for ED services, ED staffing issues, and inconsistency in the availability of inpatient beds.
Added December 2015
Solving the worldwide emergency department crowding problem – what can we learn from an Israeli ED?
2015
Israel Journal of Health Policy Research
Journal Article
Issue 52
Volume 4
Pages 1-4
Author(s): Pines, J. M., Bernstein, S. L.
Added December 2015
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
Ergonomics in Healthcare Facility Design, Part 1: Patient Care Areas
2011
Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 41
Pages 49-51
Author(s): Stichler, J. F., Feiler, J. L.
Added December 2015
Ergonomics in Healthcare Facility Design, Part 2: Support Areas
2011
Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 41
Pages 97-99
Author(s): Feiler, J. L., Stichler, J. F.
Added December 2015
Higher Quality of Care and Patient Safety Associated With Better NICU Work Environments
2016
Journal of Nursing Care Quality
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 31
Pages 24-32
Author(s): Lake, E. T., Hallowell, S. G., Kutney-Lee, A., Hatfield, L. A., Del Guidice, M., Boxer, B. A., Ellis, L. N., Verica, L., Aiken, L. H.
Infants undergoing treatment in neonatal intensive care units or NICUs are among those patients who are most susceptible to negative outcomes pertaining to quality and safety. The authors note that the central catheters, which are so crucial to a neonate, are often the source for nosocomial infections.
Added November 2015
Physical Design Correlates of Efficiency and Safety in Emergency Departments: A Qualitative Examination
2014
Critical Care Nursing Quarterly
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 37
Pages 299-316
Author(s): Pati, D., Harvey, T. E., Pati, S.
The objective of this study was to explore and identify physical design correlates of safety and efficiency in emergency department (ED) operations. This study adopted an exploratory, multimeasure approach to (1) examine the interactions between ED operations and physical design at 4 sites and (2) identify domains of physical design decision-making that potentially influence efficiency and safety. Multidisciplinary gaming and semistructured interviews were conducted with stakeholders at each site.
Added November 2015