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Knowledge Repository

A complete, user-friendly database of healthcare design research references MoreLess about the Knowledge Repository

The Knowledge Repository is a complete, user-friendly database of healthcare design research references that continues to grow with the latest peer-reviewed publications. Start with our Knowledge Repository for all of your searches for articles and research citations on healthcare design topics. Access full texts through the source link, read key point summaries, or watch slidecasts. Expand your search and find project briefs, interviews, and other relevant resources by visiting our Insights & Solutions page.

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Displaying 121 - 140 of 299

Destination Bedside

Author(s): Watkins, N., Kennedy, M., Lee, N., O’Neill, M., Peavey, E., DuCharme, M., & Padula, C.
Patient-centered care (PCC) has been at the core of healthcare reform. Improvements and advancements in Healthcare Information Technology (HIT), Electronic Health Records and inpatient unit layout have been some means that aim to achieve PCC. Also key to PCC is the alleviation of medical errors, which HIT and related technology can help achieve.
Key Point Summary
Added January 2016

Room for caring: patients' experiences of well-being, relief and hope during serious illness

Author(s): Timmermann, C., Uhrenfeldt, L., Birkelund, R.
The positive impact of pleasing hospital aesthetics, both in terms of uplifted moods and improved health outcomes in patients, has been documented and discussed throughout history. From ancient Greeks to Florence Nightingale to modern evidence-based health design, the belief that the hospital environment itself, apart from its technical and clinical abilities, actively contributes to the healing process has resurfaced repeatedly. Despite this, scarcely any empirical research has been done to show how seriously ill patients personally experience their hospital rooms, and what these experiences mean to them during the healing process.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2015

Benefits from wood interior in a hospital room: a preference study

Author(s): Nyrud, A. Q., Bringslimark, T., Bysheim, K.
New design strategies, focusing on implementing the psychologically beneficial effects of nature in the built environment, are increasingly being implemented in building design. The design of built settings is of particular importance in environments intended for healing, such as hospitals. Preferences for a setting are thought to be indicators of factors in the environment that can enhance...
Key Point Summary
Added December 2015

The effectiveness of environmental strategies on noise reduction in a pediatric intensive care unit: Creation of single-patient bedrooms and reducing noise sources

Author(s): Kol, E., Aydın, P., Dursun, O.
Noise has been documented to be an adverse issue for patients and workers in a healthcare setting. The authors refer to literature that indicates that in intensive care units (ICUs), an increasing number of medical devices, equipment, and healthcare providers add to the crowding and ensuing noise levels in the ICUs.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2015

Ready-JET-Go: Split Flow Accelerates ED Throughput

Author(s): Bish, P. A., McCormick, M. A., Otegbeye, M.
Emergency departments (ED) in America have seen large increases in demand for emergency services over the last decade. This increased demand for ED services has resulted in delayed treatment for patients, increased rates of patients leaving the ED without receiving treatment, and decreases in satisfactory ED visit experiences.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2015

Environmental infection control considerations for Ebola

Author(s): Lowe, J. J., Olinger, P. L., Gibbs, S. G., Rengarajan, K., Beam, E. L., Boulter, K. C., Schwedhelm, M. M., Hayes, A. K., Kratochvil, C. J., Vanairsdale, S., Frislie, B., Lewis, J., Hewlett, A. L., Smith, P. W., Gartland, B., Ribner, B. S.
The impact of the 2014 outbreak of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa was felt in the United States when patients were transferred for treatment. Following the first Ebola death in the U.S. and given the high risk factors associated with the disease, infection control and prevention measures were stepped up in hospitals around the country.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2015

Network of Spaces and Interaction-Related Behaviors in Adult Intensive Care Units

Author(s): Rashid, M., Boyle, D. K., Crosser, M.
Using three spatial network measures of “space syntax”, this correlational study describes four interaction-related behaviors among three groups of users in relation to visibility and accessibility of spaces in four adult intensive care units (ICUs) of different size, geometry, and specialty. Systematic field observations of interaction-related behaviors show significant differences in spatial distribution of interaction-related behaviors in the ICUs.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2015

Evaluation of factors and approaches affecting emergency department space planning

Author(s): Pascale, F., Achour, N., Price, A. D. F., Polverino, F.
Increasing demand for care in emergency departments (EDs) is a widespread issue that has provoked the development of different processes to help reduce the struggles faced by healthcare providers. By investigating the different methods healthcare designers have implemented to reduce the costs and complications associated with ED overcrowding and inefficiency, more resilient designs may be realized in the future.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2015

Do Cost Savings from Reductions in Nosocomial Infections Justify Additional Costs of Single-Bed Rooms in Intensive Care Units? A Simulation Case Study

Author(s): Sadatsafavi, H., Niknejad, B., Zadeh, R., Sadatsafavi, M.
Nosocomial infections are infections that are acquired in healthcare facilities. They are a key factor in decisions to construct and maintain single-patient bedrooms in intensive care units (ICUs), since single-patient rooms have been shown to greatly reduce instances of nosocomial infections. However, no prior studies have investigated whether the resource savings incurred from reducing nosocomial infections are worth the construction and maintenance costs required for single-patient bedrooms in ICUs.
Key Point Summary
Added October 2015

Investigating the fall-injury reducing effect of impact absorbing flooring among female nursing home residents: initial results

Author(s): Gustavsson, J., Bonander, C., Andersson, R., Nilson, F.
Added October 2015

Environmental viral contamination in a pediatric hospital outpatient waiting area: Implications for infection control

Author(s): D'Arcy, N., Cloutman-Green, E., Klein, N., Spratt, D. A.
Many viruses found in the healthcare environment are known to survive for long periods of time on inanimate objects or in the air. Pediatric healthcare environments are particularly susceptible to viral infections. Alluding to other studies where work surfaces, doors, and other touch surfaces were shown to be contaminated by virus, this study aims to find out if common touch sites in a pediatric healthcare environment can be contaminated with potentially infectious viruses.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2015

Impact of the Design of Neonatal Intensive Care Units on Neonates, Staff, and Families: A Systematic Literature Review

Author(s): Shahheidari, M., Homer, C.
The authors indicate that the design of NICUs incorporating single family rooms as evidence indicates this room type contributes to the better development of babies, facilitates increased parental involvement in care, controls infection, and reduces noise and length of stay.
Key Point Summary
Added July 2015

Lighting for Today's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Author(s): Rizzo, P., Rea, M., White, R.
Lighting is a design feature in NICUs that needs to cater to and support all users of the NICU – the infant, the staff, and the family. The authors surmise that lighting should be quiet, reliable, efficient, maintenance- free, and flexible in accordance with the diverse and changing requirements of the NICU users.
Key Point Summary
Added July 2015

Part 2: Evaluation and Outcomes of an Evidence-Based Facility Design Project

Author(s): Krugman, M., Sanders, C., Kinney, L. J.
After a western academic hospital implemented the recommendations of an interdisciplinary team that combined the principles of Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) and Evidence-Based Design (EBD), an evaluation was necessary. This article (Part 2) presents the evaluation of the project.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2015

Colour Sustainability in Hospitals Interior Spaces

Author(s): Elqahtani, L. A., Elgizawi, L.
The impact of the physical environment on health outcomes in hospital facilities has been studied extensively. Interior colors affect the moods and feelings of hospital users to a degree that must not be overlooked by facility designers.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2015

Does effective designing of operation theaters contribute towards staff satisfaction: A cross-sectional study

Author(s): Rinkoo, A. V., Singh, S. P., Mishra, S., Vashishta, G., Chandra, H., Singh, P. K.
Design has an impact on staff satisfaction. Operation theaters (OTs) are a primary source of revenue for the study hospital. The operation theaters of the hospital recently underwent renovation. Determining the staff satisfaction with the new work environment was crucial, as literature indicated that staff satisfaction was tied to patient satisfaction and higher financial returns.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2015

‘Therapeutic landscapes’ and the importance of nostalgia, solastalgia, salvage and abandonment for psychiatric hospital design

Author(s): Wood, V. J., Gesler, W., Curtis, S. E., Spencer, I. H., Close, H. J., Mason, J., Reilly, J. G.
There is a growing body of research exploring the concept of the “therapeutic landscape” or how the social, material, and symbolic characteristics of a given environment might positively affect one’s health. Studies show that many aspects of the physical environment can invoke positive or negative feelings, especially if there are features of the environment that are somehow related to one’s own memory.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2015

A life-cycle cost analysis for flooring materials for healthcare facilities

Author(s): Harris, D. D., Fitzgerald, L.
When deciding which flooring materials should be installed in a healthcare facility, designers must consider how the material will affect building occupant safety, long-term hospital costs, and overall appearance. Using a variety of flooring types, ranging from hard materials to soft installations, is one way to optimize the functionality and safety of a given space within a hospital.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2015

The Influence of Flooring on Environmental Stressors: A Study of Three Flooring Materials in a Hospital

Author(s): Harris, D.
Added May 2015

Finishes and Furnishings: Considerations for Critical Care Environments

Author(s): Chambers, M., Bowman, K. L.
Finishes and furnishings play an important role in the healing environment and do affect patient health outcomes, staff satisfaction, operational efficiency, and costs. It is important to create properly designed critical care units. Involving healthcare providers in the design process is necessary to highlight the user’s perspective, preferences, choices, and comfort versus safety.
Key Point Summary
Added May 2015