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Knowledge Repository

A complete, user-friendly database of healthcare design research references MoreLess about the Knowledge Repository

The Knowledge Repository is a complete, user-friendly database of healthcare design research references that continues to grow with the latest peer-reviewed publications. Start with our Knowledge Repository for all of your searches for articles and research citations on healthcare design topics. Access full texts through the source link, read key point summaries, or watch slidecasts. Expand your search and find project briefs, interviews, and other relevant resources by visiting our Insights & Solutions page.

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 91

Examining Efficiency in Open-Bay and Single-Family Room NICU Designs

Author(s): Fay, L., Real, K., Haynes, S., Daneshvar, Z., Dowling, D., Newberry, D. M., Parker, L.
Added August 2023

Lean design of the pediatric intensive care unit patient room for efficient and safe care delivery

Author(s): Lu, Y., Bishop, N. B., Zadeh, R. S.
Pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) are often operated by specially trained registered nurses (RNs). Due to the high stress and sensitivity of these environments, optimizing RN workflows and safety protocols is important.
Key Point Summary
Added August 2022

The healthcare workspace: Understanding the role of decentralized nursing stations, corridors, and huddle spaces as locations for teamwork in a neonatal intensive care unit

Author(s): Fay, L., Real, K., Haynes, S.
Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) host fragile and vulnerable patients. Research studies on NICUs with a single-family room (SFR) layout demonstrate benefits to both neonates and their parents but the impact on staff remains unclear. The decentralization associated with SFRs may impair teamwork.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2022

Efficiency and teamwork in emergency departments: Perception of staff on design interventions

Author(s): Ahmadpour, S., Bayramzadeh, S., Aghaei, P.
The authors build on previous research regarding emergency department (ED) layout and teamwork. When clinicians can move efficiently in a space that allows for collaboration, both staff and patients benefit.
Key Point Summary
Added July 2021

Designing for efficiency: Examining the impact of centralized and decentralized nurse stations on interdisciplinary care processes

Author(s): Fay, L., Santiago, J. E., Real, K., Isaacs, K.
Between 1980 and 2008, adult inpatient units increased in size by 118%. Size increases on this scale may negatively impact operational efficiency, waste reduction efforts, and workplace safety.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2020

The effect of vertical split-flow patient management on emergency department throughput and efficiency

Author(s): Garrett, J. S., Berry, C., Wong, H., Qin, H., Kline, J. A.
In some emergency departments (EDs), the severity of a patient’s condition is rated on a 5-point scale during admission using the Emergency Service Index (ESI). Under the “split-flow” model of patient triaging, patients with less-severe conditions (rated an ESI 4 or 5) are “fast tracked” so that they can be separated from patients with higher ESI scores, allowing for more efficient resource allocation for all patient treatment procedures.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2018

Introduction of a horizontal and vertical split flow model of emergency department patients as a response to overcrowding

Author(s): Wallingford, G., Joshi, N., Callagy, P., Stone, J., Brown, I., Shen, S.
Hospital emergency departments (EDs) strive to optimally organize patient flow so that optimal care can be delivered while patient length of stay is minimized. The emergency severity index (ESI) is a 5-point scale used to help medical staff discern the severity of patient conditions; higher ESI scores indicate less-severe medical conditions.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2018

Horseshoe, Cockpit, and Dragonfly: Nurse Movement in Headwall Patient Rooms

Author(s): Hamilton, D. K.
Added December 2018

Key Players in Key Roles: The Baystate Patient Progress Initiative to Improve Emergency Department Efficiency and Productivity

Author(s): Rathlev, N. K., Anderson, J., Schmidt, J., Hettler, J., Garreffi, L., Gray, M., Neal, D., Visintainer, P.
Added November 2018

How Patients and Nurses Experience an Open Versus an Enclosed Nursing Station on an Inpatient Psychiatric Unit

Author(s): Shattell, M., Bartlett, R., Beres, K., Southard, K., Bell, C., Judge, C. A., Duke, P.
Added September 2018

Sustainability of a person-centered ward atmosphere and possibility to provide person-centered forensic psychiatric care after facility relocation

Author(s): Alexiou, E., Wijk, H., Ahlquist, G., Kullgren, A., Degl’ Innocenti, A.
Added September 2018

Using Systems Theory to Examine Patient and Nurse Structures, Processes, and Outcomes in Centralized and Decentralized Units

Author(s): Real, K., Fay, L., Isaacs, K., Carll-White, A., Schadler, A.
Added April 2018

New technical solution to minimise noise exposure for surgical staff: the ‘silent operating theatre optimisation system’

Author(s): Friedrich, M. G., Boos, M., Pagel, M., Thormann, T., Berakdar, A., Russo, S., Tirilomis, T.
Added September 2017

The Environmental Services Perspective on Hospital Room Design: A Mixed-Methods Approach

Author(s): Patterson, E. S., Sanders, E., Sommerich, C. M., Evans, K. D., Lavender, S. A., Li, J.
Added August 2017

An Ergonomic Evaluation of Preoperative and Postoperative Workspaces in Ambulatory Surgery Centers

Author(s): Wingler, D., Joseph, A., Joshi, R.
Added July 2017

Nursing staff’s experiences of working in an evidence-based designed ICU patient room—An interview study

Author(s): Sundberg, F., Olausson, S., Fridh, I., Lindahl, B.
Intensive care unit nurses use technology and systems that may not have existed when their nursing units were constructed. Nurses often must work around machines and in narrow spaces to deliver complex care to critically ill patients.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2017

Effects of Unit Design on Acute Care Nurses’ Walking Distances, Energy Expenditure, and Job Satisfaction: A Pre–Post Relocation Study

Author(s): Copeland, D., Chambers, M.
Numerous previous studies have focused specifically on the relationship between nurses and patients. For instance, several studies have shown that patient outcomes are directly associated with the amount of time nurses spend with their patients.
Key Point Summary
Added May 2017

Shifting Landscapes: The Impact of Centralized and Decentralized Nursing Station Models on the Efficiency of Care

Author(s): Fay, L., Carll-White, A., Schadler, A., Isaacs, K., Real, K.
As healthcare facilities continue to implement evidence-based designs and increase in overall size, there is a lack of research examining how these changes affect the efficiency of patient care processes. Along with the physical growth of modern healthcare environments, advances in medical technology have increased the amount of multitasking required of nurses and other healthcare workers.
Key Point Summary
Added May 2017

Balancing the Human Touch with the Need for Integrating Technology in Ambulatory Surgical Environments: Barriers and Facilitators to Nursing Work and Care Team Interactions

Author(s): Joseph, A., Wingler, D., Zamani, Z.
There is a lack of information to support the design of the rapidly growing number of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). These centers have become more popular as trends in reimbursement, technology, and services have evolved. Research is needed to inform how the built environment of ambulatory surgical environments impacts the critical interactions between people, supplies, and equipment.
Key Point Summary
Added February 2017

Low stimulus environments: reducing noise levels in continuing care

Author(s): Brown, J., Fawzi, W., Shah, A., Joyce, M., Holt, G., McCarthy, C., Stevenson, C., Marange, R., Shakes, J., Solomon-Ayeh, K.
This article highlights a project that aimed to reduce levels of intrinsic background noise on an adult mental health ward. Following intervention, the ward was able to decrease the background noise decibel level from 60dB to 53dB (on average).
Key Point Summary
Added November 2016