Evidence-Based Design Features Improve Sleep Quality Among Psychiatric Inpatients
2017
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 10
Pages 52-63
Author(s): Pyrke, R. J. L., McKinnon, M. C., McNeely, H. E., Ahern, C., Langstaff, K. L., Bieling, P. J.
There are many factors present within psychiatric care facilities that can contribute to disrupted patient sleep patterns. Since poor sleep is widely associated with adverse health outcomes, it is important for designers to understand how the physical environments within mental health facilities can contribute to patient sleep patterns.
Added May 2017
Child Life Specialists' Evaluation of Hospital Playroom Design: A Mixed Method Inquiry
2017
Journal of Interior Design
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 42
Pages 71-91
Author(s): Weinberger, N., Butler, A. G., Schumacher, P. A., Brown, R. L., McGee, B.
Many children are hospitalized with chronic illnesses each year, experiences that may result in traumatic repercussions with lasting negative health effects as children grow older. Child life experts are individuals who help children and their families cope with the stresses and uncertainties of hospitalization.
Added February 2017
Airflow patterns through single hinged and sliding doors in hospital isolation rooms – Effect of ventilation, flow differential and passage
2016
Building and Environment
Journal Article
Author(s): Kalliomäki, p., Saarinen, P., Tang, J. W., Koskela, h.
Patients with highly contagious diseases are often housed in negative pressure isolation rooms. These rooms attempt to reduce cross-infections within the hospital. However, airflows produced by healthcare worker movements and door opening motions pose the risk of spreading pathogen-laden air from negative pressure isolation rooms into other spaces. A significant number of previous studies have examined the impact of single-hinged door-generated airflows, but few have compared hinged doors with sliding doors.
Added December 2016
Secondary exposure risks to patients in an airborne isolation room: Implications for anteroom design
2016
Building and Environment
Journal Article
Author(s): Mousavi, E. S., Grosskopf, K. R.
Previous research has shown that negatively pressurized Airborne Infectious Isolation Rooms (AIIRs) can protect hospitals from fatal airborne pathogens such as tuberculosis. But this use of negative pressurization can simultaneously increase the chances of isolated patients contracting secondary infections, or healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs), caused by air blowing in from adjacent spaces. Research is needed to better assess the actual likelihood of secondary infections occurring in these scenarios so that steps can be taken to mitigate these risks.
Added December 2016
Analysis of circadian stimulus allowed by daylighting in hospital rooms
2017
Lighting Research and Technology
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 49
Pages 49-61
Author(s): Acosta, I, Leslie, R. P., Figueiro, M. G.
Light is the major synchronizer of circadian rhythms to the 24-hour solar day. Compared to the visual system, the circadian system requires more light to be activated and is more sensitive to short-wavelength light. For those confined indoors, such as patients or residents in care facilities, the lack of access to daylight, or electric lighting providing a comparable amount, spectrum, distribution, duration, and timing, may compromise their human health and well-being.
Added November 2016
An Assessment of Levels of Safety in Psychiatric Units
2016
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 10
Pages 66-80
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.
Added September 2016
Security Implications of Physical Design Attributes in the Emergency Department
2016
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 9
Pages 50-63
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.
Added September 2016
Effective Use of the Built Environment to Manage Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: A Systematic Review
2014
PLOS ONE
Journal Article
Issue 12
Volume 9
Pages 1-12
Author(s): Soril, L. J. J., Leggett, L. E., Lorenzetti, D. L., Silvius, J., Robertson, D., Mansell, L., Holroyd-Leduc, J., Noseworthy, T. W., Clement, F. M., Laks, J.
There is a lack of valid and reliable research in the area of impact of built environment interventions in managing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.
Added June 2016
A Recovery-Oriented Care Approach: Weighing the Pros and Cons of a Newly Built Mental Health Facility
2016
Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 54
Pages 39–48
Author(s): Ahern, C. C., Bieling, P., McKinnon, M. C., McNeely, H. E., Langstaff, K.
An inpatient mental health hospital was renovated with a newly built environment that incorporated patient-centered, clinically informed designs in an attempt to improve overall safety and quality of care. The new designs were considerably expensive and had extensive design implications for other parts of the hospital outside of the mental health facility.
Added June 2016
A nursing home staff tool for the indoor visual environment: The content validity
2016
Journal of Nursing Education and Practice
Journal Article
Issue 11
Volume 6
Pages 25-33
Author(s): Sinoo, M. M., Kort, H. S. M., Loomans, M. G. L. C., Schols, J. M. G. A.
Visual impairments affecting residents of nursing homes can arise from numerous causes, and they can directly affect these residents’ quality of life by jeopardizing their ability to participate in daily activities such as reading, watching television, or even interacting with others. The physical makeup of the nursing home itself can work to either help or hinder its residents, and in cases in which the environment is beneficial, the nursing home can be called an “environmental fit.
Added June 2016
Impact of Neonatal Intensive Care Bed Configuration on Rates of Late-Onset Bacterial Sepsis and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Colonization
2015
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology
Journal Article
Issue 10
Volume 36
Pages 1173-1182
Author(s): Julian, S., Burnham, C.-A., Sellenriek, P., Shannon, W. D., Hamvas, A., Tarr, P. I., Warner, B. B.
Late-onset infections are a continuing issue, causing notable levels of morbidity and mortality in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), while also increasing the length of patient stay and financial burdens on healthcare institutions. Few previous studies have tested the hypothesis that infants in single-patient rooms have a lower risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization, late-onset sepsis, and death.
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.
Added June 2016
Meeting the Needs of Visually Impaired People Living in Lifetime Homes
2016
Journal of Housing For the Elderly
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 30
Pages 123-140
Author(s): Rooney, C., Hadjri, K., Rooney, M., Faith, V., McAllister, K., Craig, C.
Lifetime Homes standards (LTHS) are a group of mandatory public-sector housing design interventions used in the U.K. They attempt to provide a model that ensures adaptable and accessible homes for the entire duration of an occupant’s stay. Changes in one’s physical environment, much like the ones implemented by LTHS, could help reduce the impact of disabilities such as visual impairment, and could help give patients different degrees of communal living with some level of independence.
Added May 2016
The Creation of a Biocontainment Unit at a Tertiary Care Hospital: The Johns Hopkins Medicine Experience
2016
Annals of the American Thoracic Society
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 13
Pages 600-608
Author(s): Garibaldi, B. T., Kelen, G. D., Brower, R. G., Bova, G., Ernst, N., Reimers, M., Langlotz, R., Gimburg, A., Iati, M., Smith, C., MacConnell, S., James, H., Lewin, J. J., Trexler, P., Black, M. A., Lynch, C., Clarke, W., Marzinke, M. A., Sokoll, L. J., Carroll, K. C., Parish, N. M., Dionne, K., Biddison, E. L. D., Gwon, H. S., Sauer, L., Hill, P., Newton, S. M., Garrett, M. R., Miller, R. G., Perl, T. M., Maragakis, L. L.
Prior to the 2014 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa, the United States had only one to three specialized biocontainment units. Once the EVD crisis began, a group of reputable American healthcare institutions worked together to renovate a deactivated clinical space into a functioning biocontainment unit (BCU).
Added April 2016
Is single room hospital accommodation associated with differences in healthcare-associated infection, falls, pressure ulcers or medication errors? A natural experiment with non-equivalent controls
2016
Journal of Health Services Research & Policy
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 21
Pages 147-155
Author(s): Simon, M., Maben, J., Murrells, T., Griffiths, P.
Previous studies have associated single-patient rooms with reduced infection rates, reduced medication errors, and faster patient recovery rates. In response, an increasing number of hospitals have been shifting towards an entirely single-patient room layout. Although there are plenty of studies from the U.K. providing empirical evidence for the efficacy of single-patient rooms, the United States lacks this foundation of published research, and could therefore benefit from an outcome analysis of single-patient rooms.
Added February 2016
Developing the Birth Unit Design Spatial Evaluation Tool (BUDSET) in Australia: A Qualitative Study
2010
Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 3
Pages 43-57
Author(s): Foureur, M., Leap, N., Davis, D., Forbes, I., & Homer, C.
To develop a tool to assess the “optimality” of birth unit design. This is important because “Optimal birth spaces are likely to enable women to have physiologically normal labor and birth.”
Added January 2016
Designing a “Think-Along Dwelling” for People with Dementia: A Co-Creation Project Between Health Care and the Building Services Sector
2013
Journal of Housing for the Elderly
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 27
Pages 299-332
Author(s): Van Hoof, J., Blom, M. M., Post, H. N. A., & Bastein, W. L
Many of the elderly prefer to age-in-place. However, if one of the elderly developments dementia, particular challenges may be posed when designing, constructing, or retrofitting an existing home environment. In the Netherlands about two-thirds of the people with dementia live at home. This is the setting for this study.
Added January 2016
Home Modification and Prevention of Frailty Progression in Older Adults: A Japanese Prospective Cohort Study
2014
Journal of Gerontological Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 8
Volume 40
Pages 40-46
Author(s): Mitoku, K., Shimanouchi, S.
In a study involving 574 Japanese adults 65 years or older who required a low or moderate level of care, 34% modified their homes over the course of the study. Modification of these older adults’ homes prevented the progression of frailty (requiring higher level of care).
Added January 2016
Innovation Pilot Study: Acute Care for Elderly (ACE) Unit--Promoting Patient-Centric Care
2012
Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Author(s): Krall et al.
Older patients have different needs: cognitive impairment, chronic health issues, caregiver burden, and maintenance of functional level. These issues present challenges to healthcare organizations when caring for this population on a general medical-surgical unit.
Added January 2016
The Impact of an Acute Psychiatry Environment on Older Patients and Their Families
2014
Journal of Gerontological Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 20
Pages 1-7
Author(s): Hung, L., Loewen, E., Bindley, B., McLaren, D., Feist, T., & Phinney, A.
There is a lack of research that examines impact of the designed environment on the experience of older adults and their families in healthcare settings.
Added January 2016
