The influence of spatial configuration on the frequency of use of hand sanitizing stations in health care environments
2017
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Author(s): Neo, J. R. J., Zadeh, R.
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) affect over 1.7 million people each year, and subsequently cost the U.S. economy approximately $8.2 billion each year. Hand hygiene compliance (HHC), which involves washing hands thoroughly with alcohol-based rubs or soap and water, is widely regarded as a major prevention measure against the transmission of pathogens that cause HAIs.
Added December 2018
Understanding Wayfinding Experience of Hospital Visitor through Tours and Maps Analysis
Author(s): Mustikawati, T., Yatmo, Y. A., Atmodiwirjo, P.
Hospitals are complex environments full of many visitors, staff members, and patients. This kind of environment can make simple navigation difficult for visitors in particular.
Added December 2018
How architectural design affords experiences of freedom in residential care for older people
2017
Journal of Aging Studies
Journal Article
Author(s): Van Steenwinkel, I., Dierckx de Casterlé, B., Heylighen, A.
As the global population of elderly humans increases, healthcare providers working in long-term care facilities have focused more on how certain social and physical design elements can help promote higher quality care.
Added October 2018
Environment of care: Is it time to reassess microbial contamination of the operating room air as a risk factor for surgical site infection in total joint arthroplasty?
2017
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 11
Volume 45
Pages 1267-1272
Author(s): Parvizi, J., Barnes, S., Shohat, N., Edmiston, C. E.
Operating rooms (ORs) typically are equipped with several layers of defense against the spread of airborne contaminants (also known as airborne microbial populations) that can lead to surgical site infections (SSIs) in patients undergoing surgical procedures that involve device implantation.
Added June 2018
Colonization and Succession of Hospital-Associated Microbiota
2017
Science Translational Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 391
Volume 9
Pages 1-11
Author(s): Lax, S., Smith, D., Sangwan, N., Handley, K., Larsen, P., Richardson, M., Taylor, S., Landon, E., Alverdy, J., Siegel, J., Stephens, B., Knight, R., Gilbert, J. A.
Hospitals are clean environments despite having many microorganisms that inhabit their spaces and impact the health of patients and staff. A strong link has been established between microbial communities obtained from human skin and from the indoor environment.
Added June 2018
Self-sanitizing copper-impregnated surfaces for bioburden reduction in patient rooms
2017
American Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 45
Pages 692-694
Author(s): Coppin, J. D., Villamaria, F. C., Williams, M. D., Copeland, L. A., Zeber, J. E., Jinadatha, C.
Hard surfaces inside hospital environments are particularly susceptible to hosting dangerous, drug-resistant pathogens that can cause harmful infections. These infections can go on to negatively impact patients, caregivers, and overall facility operations.
Added May 2018
Acuity-adaptable patient room from the patient’s perspective
2017
Journal of Nursing Education and Practice
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 8
Pages 38
Author(s): Bonuel, Nena
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.
Added April 2018
Effects of Impact-Absorbing Flooring in Residential Care from the Perspectives of Enrolled Nurses
2017
Journal of Housing For the Elderly
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 31
Pages 367-381
Author(s): Gustavsson, J., Rahm, G., Jernbro, C., Nilson, F.
Despite the fact that patient falls happen on a daily basis, there are few effective solutions for reducing fall-related injuries.
Added April 2018
“Everything Happens in the Hallways”: Exploring User Activity in the Corridors at Two Rehabilitation Units
2017
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 11
Pages 163-176
Author(s): Colley, J., Zeeman, H., Kendall, E.
This research study focused on recording activities occurring in corridors of a Spinal Cord Injury Unit and a Brain Injury Unit and how the design of the corridor influences the activities affecting patients and staff experience. The study results focused on three factors: mobility/movement, delivery of care and experience of that care, and finally “spillover space” activities (activities occurring in the corridor other than mobility/movement).
Added February 2018
Psychosocially Supportive Design: The Case for Greater Attention to Social Space Within the Pediatric Hospital
2017
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 11
Pages 151-162
Author(s): McLaughlan, R.
While patient and family-centered care models often implement environmental designs that cater to certain psychosocial needs, more research is required to understand exactly how aspects of the built environment actually affect patient and family psychosocial needs themselves
Added February 2018
Temperature-controlled airflow ventilation in operating rooms compared with laminar airflow and turbulent mixed airflow
2017
Journal of Hospital Infection
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 98
Pages 181-190
Author(s): Alsved, M., Civilis, A., Ekolind, P., Tammelin, A., Andersson, A. Erichsen, Jakobsson, J., Svensson, T., Ramstorp, M., Sadrizadeh, S., Larsson, P-A., Bohgard, M., Šantl-Temkiv, T., Löndahl, J.
Maintaining a low concentration of bacteria within operating room (OR) air is a widely accepted solution to preventing surgical site infections (SSI). As bacteria become more resistant to antibiotics, researchers and designers are working to improve OR ventilation systems in order to decrease SSI. The usual types of ventilation systems employed to mitigate SSI in ORs are laminar airflow (LAF) and turbulent mixed airflow (TMA) systems. However, there is a lack of available research to help designers make informed decisions about which systems to use in specific contexts. A new ventilation system, temperature-controlled airflow (TCAF), also needs further analysis.
Added January 2018
Time, space and technology in radiotherapy departments: how do these factors impact on patients' experiences of radiotherapy?
2017
European Journal of Cancer Care
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 26
Pages e12354
Author(s): Merchant, S., O'Connor, M., Halkett, G.
Radiation therapy is one of the more common treatments available to cancer patients. Radiation therapists (RTs) are the clinical providers who interact with patients and provide the treatment. The authors note that different organizations like the National Comprehensive Cancer Network in the U.S., the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence in the UK, and the National Breast Cancer Center and National Cancer Care Initiative in Australia either have or recommend developing guidelines for palliative, supportive, and psychosocial care in oncology settings. Literature shows that patients have reported anxiety about the illness, the treatment, and its impact on their everyday activities, which in turn has the potential for non-compliance with the treatment requirements. In this study, RTs, nurses, and patients in two treatment centers (of two different large public hospitals in Australia) were observed and interviewed. The study sought to assess to what extent the physical and cultural environment of the treatment unit was supportive for care and communication. Findings indicate that the physical design of the two centers was not conducive for patient-centered care or for effective communication between patient and RT.
Added December 2017
Sleep in intensive care unit: The role of environment
2017
Journal of Critical Care
Journal Article
Issue Supplement C
Volume 37
Pages 99-105
Author(s): Boyko, Y., Jennum, P., Nikolic, M., Holst, R., Oerding, H., Toft, P.
Several previous studies have linked abnormal, often-disrupted patient sleep patterns to impaired immune system function and various detriments to cognitive performance. Patients receiving treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU) are often subjected to several variables that can easily disrupt their sleep patterns, such as light, noise, frequent therapeutic procedures, and the patient’s illness or injury itself. Previous studies concerning ICU patient sleep quality largely involved qualitative data from patient-answered questionnaires and typically did not involve populations of severely ill ICU patients.
Added December 2017
Integrating Lean Exploration Loops Into Healthcare Facility Design: Schematic Phase
2017
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 10
Pages 131-141
Author(s): Johnson, K., Mazur, L. M., Chadwick, J., Pooya, P., Amos, A., McCreery, J.
Lean Exploration Loops (LELs) are part of a Lean production methodology that involves thinking preemptively about the “next steps” within a process and rapidly generating, testing, and evaluating these next steps prior to any formal narrowing-down of viable options. Lean production models are applied within healthcare environments in a variety of ways; however, this study is unique in how it presents the use of LELs during the “schematic phase” of construction planning for a new large surgical tower. Although the schematic phase usually entails determining the layout for each floor of a given building, this study focuses only on the second floor of the new tower due to its role as the “master floor.”
Added December 2017
The impact of single and shared rooms on family-centred care in children's hospitals
2017
Journal of Clinical Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 11-12
Volume 26
Pages 1584-1596
Author(s): Curtis, P., Northcott, A.
Family-centered care (FCC) is a concept used to treat children in healthcare facilities around the world. FCC is generally defined as a set of beneficial partnerships among families, patients, and providers promoting information sharing, respect and dignity, and collaboration and participation among all parties involved. As modern healthcare facilities continue to see a trend towards increased numbers of single-patient rooms, the influence of the built environment on the dynamics of FCC remains largely unstudied.
Added December 2017
Developing an evidence base of best practices for integrating computerized systems into the exam room: A systematic review.
2017
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
Journal Article
Issue e1
Volume 24
Pages e207-e215
Author(s): Patel, M. R., Vichich, J., Lang, I., Lin, J., Zheng, Kai
The use of electronic health records (EHR) is increasing at medical facilities across the US. Computerized systems provide a better infrastructure for healthcare delivery.
Added December 2017
Clinic Design as Placebo-Using Design to Promote Healing and Support Treatments
2017
Behavioral Sciences
Journal Article
Author(s): Rehn, J., Schuster, K.
In this study the authors propose that not unlike a medical placebo effect, the built environment can impact individual judgments and behavior, especially in healthcare environment. The authors refer to this as a design placebo effect.
Added December 2017
A Diagnostic Post-Occupancy Evaluation of the Nacadia® Therapy Garden
2017
International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health
Journal Article
Author(s): Sidenius, U., Karlsson Nyed, P., Lygum, V. L., Stigsdotter, U. K.
The Nacadia® therapy garden was built based on the evidence-based health design in landscape architecture (EBHDL) model developed by the University of Copenhagen.
Added December 2017
Could we predict airborne Aspergillus contamination during construction work?
2017
American Journal Of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 45
Pages 39-41
Author(s): Pilmis, B., Thepot-Seegers, V., Angebault, C., Weiss, E., Alaabouche, I., Bougnoux, M.-E., Zahar, J.-R.
Hospital infections during construction work are common due to airborne pathogens. A major contributor is Aspergillus, which spreads from the outdoors during demolition and construction.
Added December 2017
Building Situation Awareness on the Move: Staff Monitoring Behavior in Clinic Corridors
2017
Qualitative Health Research
Journal Article
Issue 14
Volume 27
Pages 2244-2257
Author(s): González-Martínez, E., Bangerter, A., Lê Van, K.
Hospital staff members are responsible for remaining continuously aware of a care unit’s functioning while simultaneously performing individualized tasks in a deeply interconnected and unpredictable environment.
Added December 2017
