It has been shown by several studies that acuity-adaptable rooms have a positive effect on patients’ satisfaction and health outcomes. These rooms can adapt to the patient’s changing condition at any acuity level, eliminating the need for transfer during the entire hospital stay. According to the author, this room concept contributed to a decrease in length of stay, improved the feeling of safety, and provided a better overall patient experience. The study focused on renal transplant patients to understand the feasibility of the concept and to get their perspective.
The objective of the study was to collect data on patients’ satisfaction in renal transplant acuity-adaptable hospital rooms to describe their perspective on the concept.
The study was conducted at a 30-bed multi-organ transplant unit at a magnet-designated university hospital. For consistency, renal-transplant patients were selected as a homogenous sample group. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed, which resulted in selecting 36 consenting patients. A literature review of relevant articles initially was carried out with no specified search methodology. A 5-point agreement scale was used to measure responses on a 7-item questionnaire to measure the patient’s level of satisfaction in acuity-adaptable rooms. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board prior to execution. Due to the lack of an acuity-adaptable care setting and relevant evidence, a collaborative transdisciplinary team created 4 transplant acuity-adaptable rooms. Thirty-three questionnaires were returned and the results added up and shown as percentages in a table.
All of the 33 survey questionnaires were returned and the results were analyzed. Of the respondents, 78% felt positive about the monitoring equipment, which made them feel safe. 74% approved of the furniture and equipment in the room with only one patient complaining about the bed. 72% said the temperature inside the room was adequate, with 8% complaining about the thermostat being difficult to set to a comfortable level. The acuity-adaptable rooms were located near the nurses’ station for close observation; however, that created discomfort with the noise level. 72% agreed that the rooms provided the needed healing environment. 75% were satisfied with the nurses and the quality of care given, and 81% said the care in the acuity-adaptable rooms was exceptional.
The study was done on a small sample of participants and cannot be used as a reflection of a larger group of patients or rooms. A larger sample would have more variations and possibly different results.