Research Reports & Papers

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Reducing Patient Stress and Improving Outcomes

The Center for Health Design CHER (Coalition for Health Environments Research) Paper

The Effect of Environmental Design on Reducing Nursing and Medication Errors in Acute Care Settings - November 2007

A comprehensive review of the empirical literature followed up with interviews with nurses at seven hospitals. The study concludes with specific recommendations about environmental interventions that can support the reduction of errors in the nursing unit.

Issue Paper #4

Sound Control for Improved Outcomes in Healthcare Settings - January 2007

This paper examines how different aspects of sound—noise, speech privacy, speech intelligibility, and music—impact patient and staff outcomes in healthcare settings and the specific environmental design strategies that can be used to improve the acoustical environment of healthcare settings.

Issue Paper #2

The Impact of Light on Outcomes in Healthcare Settings - August 2006

Studies show that higher light levels are linked with better performance of complex visual tasks and light requirements increase with age. By controlling the body’s circadian system, light impacts outcomes in healthcare settings by reducing depression among patients, decreasing length of stay in hospitals, improving sleep and circadian rhythm, lessening agitation among dementia patients, easing pain, and improving adjustment to night-shift work among staff. This issue paper was funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

CHER (Coalition for Health Environments Research) Paper

The Impact of Single-Room Neonatal Intensive Care on User's Health and Satisfaction - 2006

A recent trend in the design of neonatal intensive care facilities has been to increase the number of private patient rooms for neonates and their families. The purpose of this study is to explore the implications of single family rooms (SFRs) relative to open-bay arrangements in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).

CHER (Coalition for Health Environments Research) Paper

Color in Healthcare Environments: A Critical Review of the Reserach Literature - 2004

Many healthcare providers, designers and practitioners in the field have questioned the relationship between people and color in the environment and searched for empirical reasoning for the various color guidelines in healthcare settings. The evidence-based knowledge, however, for making informed decisions regarding color application in the designed environment has been sporadic, fragmented, conflicting, anecdotal, and loosely tested.

Research Report

An Investigation to Determine Whether the Built Environment Affects Patient's Medical Outcomes - 1998
Is it possible to save money and realize a greater payback from the built environment if design decisions were grounded in scientifically valid information? Based on an extensive review of existing literature in the late 1990s, this initial review of evidence-based design studies includes suggested design applications and a list of credible studies.

Research Report

Gardens in Healthcare Facilities: Uses, Therapeutic Benefits, and Design Recommendations - 1995
What specific elements and qualities in hospital gardens seem to be the most related to a change of mood? Based on a number of case study evaluations, this award-winning report provides convincing evidence.