ARTICLE
Hadi, K., DuBose, J. R., & Ryherd, E. (2016). Lighting and Nurses at Medical–Surgical Units: Impact of Lighting Conditions on Nurses’ Performance and Satisfaction. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 9(3), 17-30.
Abstract
Objective: This study investigates the perception of nurses about their lighting environment at medical–surgical hospital units in order to understand areas of improvement for lighting at these units.
Methods: This study used an online survey to ask a set of questions about lighting in medical–surgical units at five key locations including centralized nurse stations, decentralized nurse stations (DCNS), patient bedsides, patient bathrooms, and corridors from 393 survey participants. It then explored the survey findings in more depth through conducting focus groups with eight volunteer nurses.
Results: Lighting conditions at patient besides and DCNSs were significantly less desirable for nurses compared to other locations. A significant relationship between nurses’ access to lighting controls (switches and dimmers) and satisfaction about the lighting environment was found. No significant relationship was observed between the individual characteristics of nurses (such as age, years of experience, etc.) and findings of this study.
Conclusions: Thoughtful design of the lighting environment can improve nurses’ satisfaction and perception about their working environment.
Keywords: lighting, medical–surgical unit, nurse satisfaction, nurse performance, hospital design
Experts
Khatereh Hadi is a PhD student and researcher in Evidence-Based Design at the College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology and a Design Analyst at HDR working on the Data Driven Design team. She is interested in creating better environments for patients, caregivers and families through evidence-based design strategies, applied research and simulation. She has been involved in major research projects about the impact of lighting on patients and caregivers' health, wellness, satisfaction and performance with industry partners such as Philips, Hill-Rom, Acuity Brands and HDR.
Jennifer DuBose is the Associate Director of the Georgia Tech SimTigrate Design Lab. An expert in evidence-based design, sustainability and carbon accounting, she is a Principal Research Associate at Georgia Tech. She has helped lead the creation of the SimTigrate Design Lab, a multidisciplinary lab focused on using research and simulation to bring about healthcare value through the integrated, human-centered design of healthcare settings, health IT, products and care processes and cultures.
Dr. Erica Ryherd is an Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, where she specializes in engineering built environments that are conducive to healthy occupant outcomes. She is actively engaged in research linking healthcare environmental systems (e.g., acoustics, lighting, spatial layout) to patient and staff outcomes. This includes work in more than a dozen hospitals and a broad range of unit types including intensive care, emergency, operating, inpatient, and others. She has presented and published widely to engineering, architecture, and medical audiences on projects related to research-informed design of healthcare settings, including serving as a 2018 AIA Academy of Architecture for Health Masters Studio Webinar Speaker and a 2014 Center for Health Design Icons and Innovators Speaker. She recently received the 2017 Science Writing Award for Professionals in Acoustics from the Acoustical Society of America and a 2018 Consulting-Specifying Engineer 40 Under 40 Award.