Developing a Usability Evaluation Tool to Assess the Patient Room Bathroom
2010
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 3
Pages 22-41
Author(s): Fink, N., Pak, R., Battisto, D.
Objective: The goal of this project was to create an easy-to-administer and inexpensive tool that can help indentify usability issues in a patient room bathroom during the design process so improvements can be made before the final product is constructed and put into operation. Background: The bathroom is an essential part of any hospital patient room, yet it is associated with nurse...
Added September 2014
Where Active Older Adults Walk: Understanding the Factors Related to Path Choice for Walking Among Active Retirement Community Residents
2007
Environment and Behavior
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 39
Pages 75-105
Author(s): Joseph, A., Zimring, C.
There is little evidence about how path-design characteristics at site and building scale may be related to where active older adults choose to walk. This article describes the findings from an empirical study examining the relationship between physical environmental characteristics of path segments and their use for walking for recreation or instrumental reasons by 114 active residents on three...
Added August 2014
Evaluation of a comprehensive slip, trip and fall prevention programme for hospital employees
2008
Ergonomics
Journal Article
Issue 12
Volume 51
Pages 1906-1925
Author(s): Bell, J.L., Collins, J.W., Wolf, L., Grönqvist, R., Chiou, S., Chang, W.R., Sorock, G.S., Courtney, T.K., Lombardi, D.A., Evanoff, B.
Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate that total slips, trips, and fall-related injuries account for the second greatest proportion (30 percent) of all work-related emergency department visits requiring hospitalization. Since slips, trips, and falls result from a wide variety of circumstances, there are a number of countermeasures with the potential to reduce slips, trips, and fall injury incidents. These include slip-resistant shoes floor surfaces, mats, and waxes, prompt cleaning of spillage and debris, keeping stairs and walkways clear, improving lighting, adding handrails, and clearing ice and snow.
Added August 2014
A randomized controlled trial to prevent patient lift and transfer injuries of health care workers
2001
Spine
Journal Article
Issue 16
Volume 26
Pages 1739-1746
Author(s): Yassi, A., Cooper, J. E., Tate, R. B., Gerlach, S., Muir, M., Trottier, J., Massey, K., Abushousheh, A.
Back injury to nursing staff during patient-handling tasks is a major issue in healthcare. The value of mechanical assistive devices in reducing injuries to these workers is unclear.
Added July 2014
A decade of adult intensive care unit design: a study of the physical design features of the best-practice examples
2006
Critical Care Nursing Quarterly
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 29
Pages 282-311
Author(s): Rashid, M., Abushousheh, A.
This article reports a study of the physical design characteristics of a set of adult intensive care units (ICUs), built between 1993 and 2003. These ICUs were recognized as the best-practice examples by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and the American Institute of Architects.
Added July 2014
Ceiling lifts reduce patient-handling injuries
2006
Healthcare Design
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 6
Pages 10-13
Author(s): Joseph, A., Fritz, L.
Nurses and nurse aides who have direct interaction with patients, performing manual lifting and transferring activities, are at a particularly high risk of injury and back pain. There are significant reductions in the incidence of injury when staff uses mechanical lift equipment vs. manual lifting techniques. In comparison with floor mechanical lift equipment, ceiling-mounted lifts are superior due to their ease of use, storage, and patient safety.
Added July 2014
Legionnaires' Disease in Long-Term Care Facilities: Overview and Proposed Solutions
2005
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 53
Pages 875-880
Author(s): Seenivasan, M. H., Yu, V. L., Muder, R. R.
Legionnaires’ disease is a notable problem in acute care settings. Legionnaires’ disease has been shown to be an important cause of community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia. In hospitals with Legionella colonization of the water systems, hospital-acquired legionellosis is frequently endemic, accounting for 10% to 40% of hospital-acquired pneumonias. Legionnaires’ disease also accounts for 2% to 15% of community-acquired pneumonia. In contrast, the incidence of Legionnaires’ disease in long-term care residents is not clearly delineated.
Added July 2014
Long-term care physical environments- effect on medication errors
2012
International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 25
Pages 431-441
Author(s): Mahmood, A., Chaudhury, H., Gaumont, A., Rust, T.
Medication errors contribute significantly to patient morbidity and mortality, and are associated with considerable healthcare costs, as well. The human and financial costs following preventable medical errors are high; data in the United States suggest an estimated 44,000 inpatients die each year from preventable medical errors. Nationally, preventable adverse event costs have been estimated at $17 billion.
Added July 2014
Applying human factors in improving medication-use safety
2002
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy
Journal Article
Issue 12
Volume 59
Pages 1155-1159
Author(s): Schneider,PJ.
In this descriptive study the author summarizes the highlights of an interactive conference on human factors (HF) and t applications to improve medication safety. The author describes the various human factors concepts and tools and their applications in reducing human errors, thus improving medication safety.
Added May 2014
Suicide Attempts and Completions in the Emergency Department in Veterans Affairs Hospitals
2012
Emergency Medicine Journal
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 29
Pages 399-403
Author(s): Mills, P. D., Watts, B. V., DeRosier, J. M., Tomolo, A. M., Bagian, J. P.
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and approximately 1,500 suicides occur in inpatient hospital units in the United States each year, This study examines the specific environmental factors involved in suicide attempts and completions in an ED in a large, nationally represented hospital sample (VA).
Added May 2014
Fall and Injury Prevention in Older People Living in Residential Care Facilities: A Cluster Randomized Trial
2002
Annals of Internal Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 10
Volume 136
Pages 733–741
Author(s): Jensen, J., Lundin-Olsson, L., Nyberg, L., Gustafson, Y.
Despite the fact that falls and resulting injuries are common in the residential care population, little is known about how to prevent falls. Research during the past 10 years around fall prevention has shown positive and negative results. Some of these inconsistent results could be explained by differences in target groups, interventions, and outcome measures.
Added May 2014
BedSAFE. A bed safety project for frail older adults
2003
Journal of Gerontological Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 11
Volume 29
Pages 34-42
Author(s): Choi, Y. S., Hoffman, S. B., Powell-Cope, G. , MacClellan, L. , Bero, K.
Bed rails may cause significant injury and death from entrapments. Systematic interventions are needed to guide practices that reduce bed-rail use while addressing related clinical issues.
Added May 2014
Violence In Healthcare Facilities: Lessons From the Veterans Health Administration
2004
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Journal Article
Volume 46
Pages 1158-1165
Author(s): Hodgson, M.J. , Reed, R., Craig,T., Murphy, F., Lehmann, L., Belton, L., Warren, N.
The authors examined assault frequency and risk factors in healthcare.
Added May 2014
Intra-unit patient transports: time, motion, and cost impact on hospital efficiency
2005
Nursing Economic$
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 23
Pages 157-164
Author(s): Hendrich, A. L., Lee, N.
Transferring patients can be stressful and confusing for patients and their families. In addition, risks to the patient increase during transfers. Thus, many healthcare facilities are trying to reduce patient transfers by providing more flexible patient rooms.
Added May 2014
Lean Thinking in Emergency Departments: A Critical Review
2011
Annals of Emergency Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 57
Pages 265-278
Author(s): Holden, R. J.
Added May 2014
The effects of refurbishment on residents' quality of life and wellbeing in two Swedish residential care facilities
2009
Health & Place
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 15
Pages 717–724
Author(s): Falk, H., Wijk, H., Persson, L.-O
The prevalence of elderly people with cognitive impairment in Swedish residential care facilities has been estimated to be approximately 50%, usually resulting in integrated populations with both cognitively intact and impaired residents. The physical environment must respond to the changing characteristics of their residents and variations within individuals over time to be able to provide for more than a single stage of fragility.
Added May 2014
Reduction in Injury Rates in Nursing Personnel Through Introduction of Mechanical Lifts in the Workplace
2003
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 44
Pages 451–457
Author(s): Evanoff, B., Wolf, L., Aton, E., Canos, J., Collins, J.
Many studies have reported a high rate of back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders among healthcare workers. Back pain has been identified as a major factor in causing nurses to leave the profession. Patient care requires many lifting and transfer tasks that pose a demonstrated risk of injury to workers. Mechanical assistive devices such as patient hoists offer an engineering solution to reducing potentially harmful physical exposure to nurses.
Added May 2014
Life Safety Code Comparison
2013
American Society for Healthcare Engineering
Journal Article
Author(s): Crowley, M. A., Harper, J. E.
Added May 2014
Living Environment and Mobility of Older Adults
2011
Gerontologist
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 57
Pages 698–703
Author(s): Cress, M. E., Orini, S., Kinsler, L.
Older adults often decide to live in smaller environments. Smaller living space and the addition of services provided by a retirement community (RC) may make living easier for the individual, but it may also reduce the amount of daily physical activity and ultimately reduce functional ability.
Added May 2014
Perceptions of the Physical Environment, Stage of Change for Physical Activity, and Walking Among Australian Adults
2002
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 73
Pages 146–155
Author(s): Carnegie, M. A., Bauman, A., Marshall, A. L., Mohsin, M., Westley-Wise, V., Booth, M. L.
The health benefits of regular physical activity are well-established. An understanding of the factors that influence physical activity behaviors is greatly needed to influence sedentary population groups to become more physically active. Psychological, physiological, demographic, and environmental factors are known to influence physical activity. The increasing interest in physical environmental factors such as pleasant walking paths away from traffic, bike paths, weather conditions, and neighborhood safety has arisen due to broader, integrated models developed to more comprehensively explain physical activity behavior.
Added May 2014
