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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 32

Separate Medication Preparation Rooms Reduce Interruptions and Medication Errors in the Hospital Setting: A Prospective Observational Study

Author(s): Huckels-Baumgart, S., Baumgart, A., Buschmann, U., Schüpfer, G., Manser, T.
Errors and interruptions are commonplace during medication preparation procedures in healthcare environments. One study found that one interruption occurred for every 3.2 drugs administered during nurses’ medication rounds.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2016

An Assessment of Levels of Safety in Psychiatric Units

Author(s): Bayramzadeh, S.
As mental treatment facilities see increases in the number of patients seeking care, facilities face mounting pressure in their attempts to promote patient well-being and safety. The author suggests that there is a lack of systematic empirical studies that examine how the design of mental healthcare facilities contributes to patient care and safety.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2016

Security Implications of Physical Design Attributes in the Emergency Department

Author(s): Pati, D., Pati, S., Harvey, T. E.
In this paper, the authors consider “security” a subset of “safety,” and note that security is imperative for providing efficient patient care, especially in emergency departments (EDs). Security is defined as the protection of people and property, while safety is defined as the broader concept of delivering patient care.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2016

"Let's Sit Forward": Investigating Interprofessional Communication, Collaboration, Professional Roles, and Physical Space at EmergiCare

Author(s): Dean, M., Gill, R., Barbour, J. B.
Due to the fact that emergency department (ED) caregivers are constantly involved in interprofessional, knowledge-intensive conversations, effective modes of communication necessarily play a key role in promoting patient health and safety. Previous studies have explored how the physical environment directly affects modes of communication, and how these two dimensions of the healthcare environment constantly intersect with each other.
Key Point Summary
Added August 2016

From the nurses' station to the health team hub: How can design promote interprofessional collaboration?

Author(s): Gum, Lyn Frances, Prideaux, David, Sweet, Linda, Greenhill, Jennene
The nurses’ station serves a diverse array of purposes, one being that it acts as a space for communication and interprofessional collaboration. Previous studies have shown that the design of the nurses’ station alone can impact aspects of patient and staff privacy, walking distance, and access to resources. But no known studies prior to this paper have examined specifically the influence of nurse station design on the frequency and quality of interprofessional practice.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2016

The effect of hospital layout on caregiver-patient communication patterns

Author(s): Pachilova, R., Sailer, K.
This article suggests that the field of evidence-based design (EBD), which considers information from case evaluations and credible research during design-related decision processes, has only marginally examined hospital layouts and their effects. As a result, this study attempts to build on the tradition of “Space Syntax” research, which is a theory that explores how space controls and generates encounters between inhabitants and visitors of certain spaces and how these two groups engage in communication.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2016

The hardware and software implications of hospital birth room design: A midwifery perspective

Author(s): Hammond, A., Foureur, M., Homer, C. S. E.
Every aspect of design within a given workplace – from the overall architecture to the furnishings, aesthetics, and available equipment – can affect the performance and overall experience of staff members. While many previous studies have explored the influence of workplace design in various different health care environments, little research has examined the impact of hospital birth room designs on the experience and performance of midwives.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2016

Impact of sink location on hand hygiene compliance after care of patients with Clostridium difficile infection: a cross-sectional study

Author(s): Deyneko, A., Cordeiro, F., Berlin, L., Ben-David, D., Perna, S., Longtin, Y.
Hand hygiene is typically identified as the most important infection control measure. Many healthcare settings have adopted alcohol-based hand rub solutions because they are extremely easy to use, are accessible, and are effective against microbes. One limitation of alcohol-based hand rubs, however, is their ineffectiveness against spore-forming organisms such as Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Thus, hand washing in sinks rather than rubbing with solutions is highly recommended after caring for patients with CDI.
Key Point Summary
Added May 2016

To see or not to see: Investigating the links between patient visibility and potential moderators affecting the patient experience

Author(s): Bosch, S. J., Apple, M., Hiltonen, B., Worden, E., Lu, Yi, Nanda, U., Kim, D.
The amount of visibility between patients and nursing staff contributes significantly to the balance between feelings of security and autonomy. Hospitals in which patients are in constant view of the staff can create a sense of restricted freedom, but high visibility can also be associated with higher levels of patient safety. There has been ongoing debate within the medical community as to how a perfect balance between security and autonomy can be implemented. This study took place at a hospital with a radial nursing unit.
Key Point Summary
Added April 2016

Adapting to Family-Centered Hospital Design: Changes in Providers’ Attitudes over a Two-Year Period

Author(s): France, D., Throop, P., Joers, B., Allen, L., Parekh, A., Rickard, D., Deshpande, J.
Although hospitals are being designed based on evidence-based design principles, it’s unclear how working in such an environment influences providers’ attitudes and professional performance.
Key Point Summary
Added January 2016

Destination Bedside

Author(s): Watkins, N., Kennedy, M., Lee, N., O’Neill, M., Peavey, E., DuCharme, M., & Padula, C.
Patient-centered care (PCC) has been at the core of healthcare reform. Improvements and advancements in Healthcare Information Technology (HIT), Electronic Health Records and inpatient unit layout have been some means that aim to achieve PCC. Also key to PCC is the alleviation of medical errors, which HIT and related technology can help achieve.
Key Point Summary
Added January 2016

Using Lean-Based Systems Engineering to Increase Capacity in the Emergency Department

Author(s): White, B., Chang, Y., Grabowski, B., Brown, D.
Emergency department (ED) crowding is a widespread issue that causes a multitude of negative effects on patient care quality, safety, and efficiency. Lean-based systems engineering, which is often used for industrial manufacturing, is a method for eliminating all forms of waste (including wasted time and other resources) to optimize productivity. Recent studies have begun to demonstrate the use of systems engineering and improvement science on streamlining processes and improving throughput in different medical capacities, but an opportunity remains to refine the application of these tools within EDs in particular.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2015

Physical Design Correlates of Efficiency and Safety in Emergency Departments: A Qualitative Examination

Author(s): Pati, D., Harvey, T. E., Pati, S.
The objective of this study was to explore and identify physical design correlates of safety and efficiency in emergency department (ED) operations. This study adopted an exploratory, multimeasure approach to (1) examine the interactions between ED operations and physical design at 4 sites and (2) identify domains of physical design decision-making that potentially influence efficiency and safety. Multidisciplinary gaming and semistructured interviews were conducted with stakeholders at each site.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2015

Centralized to hybrid nurse station: Communication and teamwork among nursing staff

Author(s): Zhang, Y., Soroken, L., Laccetti, M., Castillero, E. R. d., Konadu, A.
Nursing stations often act as the primary workspaces for various members of a healthcare team while patients aren’t being directly worked with. Centralized nursing stations can lead to higher rates of telephone and computer use and administrative tasks while decreasing time spent caring for patients. Conversely, decentralized nursing stations have been found to create feelings of isolation and poor communication among staff. To emphasize the positive aspects of both formats, the authors propose a hybrid nursing station design that features decentralized stations connected to centralized meeting spaces.
Key Point Summary
Added October 2015

Part 2: Evaluation and Outcomes of an Evidence-Based Facility Design Project

Author(s): Krugman, M., Sanders, C., Kinney, L. J.
After a western academic hospital implemented the recommendations of an interdisciplinary team that combined the principles of Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) and Evidence-Based Design (EBD), an evaluation was necessary. This article (Part 2) presents the evaluation of the project.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2015

Part 1: Evidence-Based Facility Design Using Transforming Care at the Bedside Principles

Author(s): Devine, D. A., Wenger, B., Krugman, M., Zwink, J. E., Shiskowsky, K., Hagman, J., Limon, S., Sanders, C., Reeves, C.
A western academic hospital reexamined its design strategy when after three years of building a new facility they had to plan for a new facility to meet their patient capacity. Using a combination of the principles of Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) and Evidence-Based Design (EBD), an interdisciplinary team presented design recommendations.
Key Point Summary
Added April 2015

The effects of physical environments in medical wards on medication communication processes affecting patient safety

Author(s): Liu, W., Manias, E., Gerdtz, M.
The physical environment of a hospital has a wide range of effects on the quality of care administered to patients. In the context of medication distribution, seamless communication among healthcare professionals of different backgrounds is imperative, and in many cases the physical environment itself can have positive or negative effects on this complex process.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014

An exploration of the meanings of space and place in acute psychiatric care

Author(s): Andes, M., Shattell, M. M.
The effectiveness of acute psychiatric care (or short-term psychiatric care) owes much to the design of the physical space inhabited by both patients and mental health professionals. The structure of psychiatric care centers and the barriers they either create or remove between patients and healthcare practitioners can potentially influence patient recovery and employee well-being. Some argue that private, physically exclusionary spaces designed specifically for nurses are necessary in order to protect sensitive information and provide psychological solace for the nurses themselves.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014

Small-scale, homelike facilities in dementia care: A process evaluation into the experiences of family caregivers and nursing staff.

Author(s): Verbeek, H., Zwakhalen, S. M. G., van Rossum, E., Kempen, G. I. J. M., Hamers, J. P. H.
Current developments in institutional dementia care aim at the downsizing of facilities and increasing their homelike appearance. Small-scale living facilities are an example of this movement, in which a small group of residents (usually six to eight) live together in a homelike environment. Residents are encouraged to participate in normal daily activities and nursing staff is part of the household with integrated tasks. Despite the increase of these facilities, little is known about experiences of family caregivers of residents and nursing staff.
Key Point Summary
Added August 2014

A decade of adult intensive care unit design: a study of the physical design features of the best-practice examples

Author(s): Rashid, M., Abushousheh, A.
This article reports a study of the physical design characteristics of a set of adult intensive care units (ICUs), built between 1993 and 2003. These ICUs were recognized as the best-practice examples by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and the American Institute of Architects.
Key Point Summary
Added July 2014