Spatial and Temporal Variations in Indoor Environmental Conditions, Human Occupancy, and Operational Characteristics in a New Hospital Building
2015
PLOS ONE
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 10
Pages e0118207
Author(s): Ramos, T., Dedesko, S., Siegel, J. A., Gilbert, J. A., Stephens, B.
Certain environmental conditions in healthcare facilities can influence occupant health outcomes and overall comfort, as well as the survival and development of harmful germs. By studying factors such as a given hospital’s physical designs, indoor temperatures, moisture levels, and workflows, the overall quality of the healthcare environment can be better understood and, if necessary, improved.
Added March 2015
The Physical Attributes of Healing Garden for A Century Old Healthcare Premises
2015
International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 6
Pages 47-59
Author(s): Ibrahim, F., Harun, W. M. W., Samad, M. H. A., Kamaruddin, W. N. W
The authors refer to previous research that examined the positive effect of gardens on the health of hospitalized patients. Two hospitals in Malaysia that were built in the late 19th century had designed gardens in the premises.
Added February 2015
Outdoor environments in healthcare settings: A quality evaluation tool for use in designing healthcare gardens
2014
Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 13
Pages 878-891
Author(s): Bengtsson, A., Grahn, P.
Post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) are the more common means of assessing the effectiveness of these environments. With the advent and growing trend of incorporating evidence-based design (EBD), the authors emphasize the need for an EBD tool.
Added December 2014
Stress Reduction in the Hospital Room: Applying Ulrich’s Theory of Supportive Design
2015
Journal of Environmental Psychology
Journal Article
Author(s): Andrade, C. C., Devlin, A. S.
In this study the authors intended to empirically test Ulrich’s (1991) theory of supportive design. According to this, the physical-socio environment of a healthcare facility affects the well-being of patients, which is promoted through perception of control (PC), social support (SS), and positive distraction (PD). The authors point to literature that separately provides evidence for the relevance of each of the above aspects.
Added December 2014
Does patient-centered design guarantee patient safety?: Using human factors engineering to find a balance between provider and patient needs
2005
Journal of Patient Safety
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 1
Pages 145-153
Author(s): France, D. J., Throop, P., Walczyk, B., Allen, L., Parekh, A. D., Parsons, A., Rickard, D., Deshpande, J. K.
According to the authors, “human factors engineering is the study of human beings and their interaction with products, environment, and equipment”, and that over the years it has evolved from systems- centered to user-centered to socially-centered care.
Added December 2014
Accessibility for mental healthcare
2013
Facilities
Journal Article
Issue 9/10
Volume 31
Pages 418-426
Author(s): Chrysikou, E.
Mental health facilities, according to the author, are designed and built to limit the mobility of patients, whether or not they are limited by physical disability. While physical mobility may be a consequence of the illness, in other cases the potential flight risk of a patient may require the facility policy to be restrictive regarding patient access to open spaces.
Added December 2014
Collaborative design: outdoor environments for veterans with PTSD
2013
Facilities
Journal Article
Issue 9/10
Volume 31
Pages 391-406
Author(s): Wagenfeld, A., Roy‐Fisher, C., Mitchell, C.
The environment has a positive impact on health outcomes. The authors indicate that this is particularly significant in the case of residential healthcare facilities where patients are required to stay for long periods of time.
Added December 2014
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
Compassionate containment? Balancing technical safety and therapy in the design of psychiatric wards
2013
Social Science & Medicine
Journal Article
Author(s): Curtis, S., Gesler, W., Wood, V., Spencer, I., Mason, J., Close, H., Reilly, J.
The authors allude to the challenge of managing risk to the security of patients and staff in psychiatric wards and how design of psychiatric hospitals contributes to it. The authors conducted an evaluation of a mental health inpatient facility.
Added December 2014
A Comparitive Analysis of Centralised and Decentralised Nurse Station and Patient’s Satisfaction
2013
Nursing and Health
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 1
Pages 65-70
Author(s): Manzoor, S. J.
A healing environment arises from careful design that demonstrates measurable improvements in the psychological and/or physical states of staff, patients, and/or visitors. When focusing on Evidence-Based Design, deliberate efforts based off of solid evidence should be made to construct the most effective possible ICU layout, thereby creating the best possible healing environment for patients and a suitable work environment for staff.
Added December 2014
Ambulatory infusion suite: pre- and post-occupancy evaluation
2012
Building Research & Information
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 40
Pages 700-712
Author(s): Shepley, M.M., Rybkowski, Z., Aliber, J., Lange, C.
The authors refer to the lack of research on the design of cancer facilities while emphasizing the need to study the impact of the physical environment of infusion suites on patient experience. This study evaluates the perceptions of patients and staff of two infusion suites – old and new, specifically in connection with social interaction, privacy, and access to nature.
Added December 2014
Designing for distractions: a human factors approach to decreasing interruptions at a centralised medication station
2012
BMJ Quality & Safety
Journal Article
Issue 11
Volume 21
Pages 939-947
Author(s): Colligan, L., Guerlain, S., Steck, S. E., Hoke, T. R.
According to the authors, literature indicates that interruptions during the administration of medication in healthcare settings can lead to errors, and that such errors are likely to cause more harm in pediatric settings. The medication station in the study hospital is centrally located with an open design targeted to reduce nurse walking and increase time with patients.
Added December 2014
Exploring positive hospital ward soundscape interventions
2014
Applied Ergonomics
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 45
Pages 1454-1460
Author(s): Mackrill, J., Jennings, P., Cain, R.
Research has repeatedly shown strong relationships between human health and the characteristics of physical environments, such as a given environment’s soundscape. A soundscape encompasses all the sounds generated within an environment, rather than a single sound source like an air vent. While there have been negative health effects associated with the excessive sound often produced in hospital soundscapes, there potentially could be beneficial outcomes in maintaining and thoroughly understanding the soundscapes of certain hospital areas.
Added December 2014
Human Factors Evaluation of an Interventional Trauma Operating Room Mock-up
Author(s): Biesbroek, S., Shultz, J., Kirkpatrick, A., Kortbeek, J.
Trauma operating rooms and angiography procedure rooms are separate entities in hospitals. An Interventional Trauma Operating Room (ITOR) with scope for both traditional surgery and interventional radiological procedures was designed to reduce the risk involved in moving unstable patients between the two treatment areas.
Added December 2014
Outdoor Wandering Parks for Persons with Dementia
2013
Outdoor Environments for People with Dementia
Book Section
Author(s): Cohen-Mansfield, J., Rodiek, S., Schwarz, B.
Outdoor spaces in nursing homes are documented to be beneficial to residents. The author alludes to literature to highlight the specific advantages exposure to different types of outdoor spaces brings to the daily lives of people suffering from dementia.
Added December 2014
Space, Choice and Control, and Quality of Life in Care Settings for Older People
2006
Environment and Behavior
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 38
Pages 589-604
Author(s): Barnes, S.
In Britain, residential care and nursing homes for elderly patients have been subject to changing design regulations over several decades. These regulations take into account the “gradations of space” allotted to patients, meaning the extent to which the buildings themselves provide public, semiprivate, and private spaces for the patients.
Added December 2014
Therapeutic landscapes in holistic medicine
1998
Social Science Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 9
Volume 46
Pages 1193-1203
Author(s): Williams, A.
This study looks at the cross-section between humanism (as applied to holistic medicine) and therapeutic landscapes, and analyzes their impact on health and healing. Therapeutic landscapes are by definition, “changing places, settings, situations, locales and milieus that encompass both the physical and psychological environments associated with treatment or healing.” In simple terms, natural landscapes can play a vital role in the healing of illness. Health programs centered on these ideals are thought to achieve physical, mental, and spiritual healing.
Added November 2014
Physiological effects of Shinrin-Yoku (taking in the atmosphere of the forest)—using salivary cortisol and cerebral activity as indicators
2007
Journal of Physiological Anthropology
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 26
Pages 123-128
Author(s): Park, B.J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T., Hirano, H., Kagawa, T., Sato, M., Miyazaki, Y.
Because humans have lived and adapted to their natural environment for the past 5 million years, it is deduced that humans function most optimally in natural environments such as the forest. It is from this philosophy that the Japanese concept and practice of Shinrin-yoku derived, defined as “making contact with nature and taking in the atmosphere of the forest.”
Added November 2014
Hospital design and face-to-face interaction among clinicians: a theoretical model
2009
Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 2
Pages 62-84
Author(s): Rashid, M.
Current research focusing on collaboration between medical professionals has shown the importance of face-to-face interactions on patient and staff outcomes. However, most strategies for increasing these interactions among clinicians have focused on operational changes that are intended to facilitate a cultural change within the organization. This research looks to examine how the physical design of a healthcare facility can create opportunities for face-to-face interactions between clinicians through spatial programs and structure.
Added November 2014
Visiting Outdoor Green Environments Positively Iimpacts Self-Rated Health among Older People In Long-Term Care
2006
HortTechnology
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 16
Pages 55-59
Author(s): Rappe, E., Kivela, S. L., Rita, H.
The restorative effects of nature in enhancing well-being are well documented. Seeing greenery or being in nature reduces stress, promotes attention capacity, and improves mood. Studies of older people living in institutions indicate positive associations between well-being of the residents and closeness of a green environment. Visiting an outdoor green environment is associated with better ability to concentrate and improved mood among the older people living in nursing homes. Plants and garden environments may contribute to psychological and social well-being of older people with dementia, according to nursing staff. Although health-related factors can impact on self-rated health among the older people living in nursing care, results from previous studies indicate that outdoor visits may also have an impact.
Added November 2014
