Definition of Evidence-Based Design

Evidence-based healthcare designs are used to create environments that are therapeutic, supportive of family involvement, efficient for staff performance, and restorative for workers under stress.

An evidence-based designer, together with an informed client, makes decisions based on the best information available from research and project evaluations. Critical thinking is required to develop an appropriate solution to the design problem; the pool of information will rarely offer a precise fit with a client’s unique situation.

In the last analysis, though, an evidence-based healthcare design should result in demonstrated improvements in the organization’s clinical outcomes, economic performance, productivity, customer satisfaction, and cultural measures.

From "The Four Levels of Evidence-Based Design Practice," by Center Board Member D. Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, FACHA, HEALTHCARE DESIGN, November 2003.

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