There has been a marked increase in evidence-based studies relating to neonatal intensive care units in pediatric healthcare literature. While it is acknowledged that clinical, operational, and social dimensions play the most significant role in healing, the physical environment has also been universally identified as a critical factor. Conscientious architects are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of design decisions on the sensory environment of the neonatal intensive care unit.
This article addresses the relevance of theories of environmental psychology to neonatal intensive care unit design as it relates to infants and staff.
Review of descriptive articles, guidelines, literature reviews, and scientific papers relating to design research on infants and staff in neonatal intensive care units is reviewed and summarized for identification of future research directions.
The review of the literature reveals the need to find the correct balance of stimulation within neonatal intensive care units for infants and for staff. The environmental dimensions that have received the most attention regarding infants are light, noise, and music.
Generalizability is limited given that the literature reviewed was not based on empirically derived evidence-based design.