Stress-reducing effects of indoor plants in the built healthcare environment: the mediating role of perceived attractiveness.
2008
Preventive Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 47
Pages 279-283
Author(s): Dijkstra, K., , Pieterse, M.E., Pruyn, A.
Previous research findings have demonstrated that the presence of natural elements such as plants and other interior features can promote patients’ recovery from stress and increase pain tolerance. Research has likewise provided evidence that people have an innate tendency to respond positively to natural elements, and that these can contribute to a more positive impression of healthcare settings. Environments that are perceived to be more attractive also have been shown to have beneficial effects such as reducing stress or improving impressions of quality of care. In reviewing the body of research to date, the authors suggest however, that underlying processes at work here are not yet well understood.
Added August 2014
Small-scale, homelike facilities in dementia care: A process evaluation into the experiences of family caregivers and nursing staff.
2012
International Journal of Nursing Studies
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 49
Pages 21-29
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.
Added August 2014
Evaluation of Ceiling Lifts in Health Care Settings Patient Outcome and Perceptions
2009
American Association of Occupational Health Nurses Journal
Journal Article
Issue 9
Volume 57
Pages 374-380
Author(s): Alamgir, H., L,i O. W., Yu, S., Gorman, E., Kidd, C.
Ceiling lifts have been introduced into healthcare settings to reduce manual patient lifting and thus occupational injuries. Although growing evidence supports the effectiveness of ceiling lifts, a paucity of research exists to link indicators, such as quality of patient care or patient perceptions, to the use of these transfer devices.
Added August 2014
A decade of adult intensive care unit design: a study of the physical design features of the best-practice examples
2006
Critical Care Nursing Quarterly
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 29
Pages 282-311
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.
Added July 2014
Perceived hospital environment quality indicators: A study of orthopaedic units
2006
Journal of Environmental Psychology
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 26
Pages 321-334
Author(s): Fornara, F., Bonaiuto, M., Bonnes, M.
The field of healthcare design has increasingly recognized the need for building environments that are more ‘‘user-centered,’’ but spatial–physical features have not typically been included in assessment surveys on patient satisfaction.
Added July 2014
Suicide Attempts and Completions in the Emergency Department in Veterans Affairs Hospitals
2012
Emergency Medicine Journal
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 29
Pages 399-403
Author(s): Mills, P. D., Watts, B. V., DeRosier, J. M., Tomolo, A. M., Bagian, J. P.
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and approximately 1,500 suicides occur in inpatient hospital units in the United States each year, This study examines the specific environmental factors involved in suicide attempts and completions in an ED in a large, nationally represented hospital sample (VA).
Added May 2014
Violence In Healthcare Facilities: Lessons From the Veterans Health Administration
2004
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Journal Article
Volume 46
Pages 1158-1165
Author(s): Hodgson, M.J. , Reed, R., Craig,T., Murphy, F., Lehmann, L., Belton, L., Warren, N.
The authors examined assault frequency and risk factors in healthcare.
Added May 2014
Effects of Acuity-Adaptable Rooms on Flow of Patients and Delivery of Care
2004
American Journal of Critical Care
Journal Article
Author(s): Hendrich, A. L., Fay, J., Sorrells, A.
Acuity-adaptable rooms could reduce patient transfer times, decrease costs, and increase patient quality of care and satisfaction. Researchers conducted a pre/post study in an acute care setting to evaluate the impact of moving to acuity-adaptable rooms on patient flow, hospital capacity, patient and staff satisfaction, sentinel events, average length of stay, and nursing productivity.
Added May 2014
The effects of refurbishment on residents' quality of life and wellbeing in two Swedish residential care facilities
2009
Health & Place
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 15
Pages 717–724
Author(s): Falk, H., Wijk, H., Persson, L.-O
The prevalence of elderly people with cognitive impairment in Swedish residential care facilities has been estimated to be approximately 50%, usually resulting in integrated populations with both cognitively intact and impaired residents. The physical environment must respond to the changing characteristics of their residents and variations within individuals over time to be able to provide for more than a single stage of fragility.
Added May 2014
Psychiatric Ward Renovation: Staff Perception and Patient Behavior
1992
Environment and Behavior
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 24
Pages 66-84
Author(s): Devlin, A. S.
Added May 2014
Traffic Flow in the Operating Room: An Explorative and Descriptive Study on Air Quality During Orthopedic Trauma Implant Surgery
2012
Journal of Infection Control
Journal Article
Issue 8
Volume 40
Pages 750-755
Author(s): Andersson, A.E., Bergh, I., Karlsson, J., Eriksson, B.I. MD, Nilsson,K.
Three main strategies exist to prevent surgical site infections following surgery: 1) the patient, 2) the surgical technique, 3) the surgical environment. This study focuses on optimizing the effect of the surgical environment in preventing SSIs (surgical site infections). The authors attempt to understand that the protective potential of operating room (OR) ventilation under different conditions is crucial to optimizing the surgical environment.
Added April 2014
Suicide in Older Adults in Long-Term Care: 1990 to 2005
2008
Journal of American Geriatric Society
Journal Article
Issue 11
Volume 56
Pages 2107-11
Author(s): Briana Mezuk, Marta R. Prescott, Kenneth Tardiff, David Vlahov, Sandro Galea
Few studies have examined the intersection between suicide risk and residency in long term care settings. This study attempts to describe the characteristics associated with suicide in older persons residing in long-term care (LTC) facilities, to compare the characteristics of suicide cases in LTC with those of cases in the community, and to evaluate trends in suicide in these settings over the past 15 years.
Added April 2014
The Impact of Virtual Reality Distraction on Pain and Anxiety during Dental Treatment in 4-6 Year-Old Children: a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
2012
Journal of Dental Research, Dental Clinics, Dental Prospects
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 6
Pages 117-124
Author(s): Aminabadi, N. A., Erfanparast, L., Oskouei, S. G., Naghili, A.
Immersive distraction techniques have been shown to be an effective method to control anxiety and pain in children during dental treatment.
Added April 2014
Impact of Music Therapy Interventions (Listening, Composition, Orff-Based) on the Physiological and Psychosocial Behaviors of Hospitalized Children: A Feasibility Study
2013
Journal of Pediatric Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 28
Pages 249-257
Author(s): Colwell, C. M., Edwards, R., Hernandez, E., Brees, K.
The hospital experience can impact the physical and mental health of a child. Prior research has shown that music therapy can have a positive effect on mood, anxiety, respiratory distress, and behavioral distress. And although listening to music is the most common form of music therapy, songwriting and physically making music have also been used as a positive coping strategy for children within a hospital environment.
Added April 2014
Physical Environment: The Major Determinant Towards the Creation of a Healing Environment?
2011
Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences
Journal Article
Volume 30
Pages 1951-1958
Author(s): Abbas, M. Y., Ghazali, R.,
Prior research suggests that the pediatric population’s heightened perception of the quality of the physical environment can have an impact on the creation of a healing environment.
Added April 2014
A novel night lighting system for postural control and stability in seniors
2008
Lighting Research and Technology
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 40
Pages 111-126
Author(s): Figueiro, M. G., Gras, L., Qi, R., Rizzo, P., Rea, M., Rea, M. S.
Age-related changes may result in impaired balance control, and thus can lead to increase risk of falls among the elderly. Visual information provides a spatial reference for self-position and location of obstacles within a person’s environment. Lack of this information results in increased body sway. In addition, low ambient light levels reduce postural control. Therefore, this study investigated the effectiveness of a novel self-luminous light emitting diode (LED) night-lighting system that provided linear spatial orientation cues plus low ambient lighting for enhancing postural control in healthy seniors.
Added April 2014
Being hospitalized with a newly- diagnosed chronic illness - A phenomenological study of children’s lifeworld in the hospital
2012
International Journal of Qualitative Studies Health Well-Being
Journal Article
Author(s): Ekra, E. M. R., Gjengedal, E.
Research regarding children within the hospital environment has typically been investigated using adult insight into the needs and preferences of children. However, current research has begun to use the child’s perspective to gain understanding on how the quality of the hospital environment influences the child’s experiences when facing an illness that requires hospitalization.
Added April 2014
Quality Physical Environment in Paediatric Wards: Designer’s Creation Versus Users’ Satisfaction
2012
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences
Journal Article
Author(s): Ghazali, R., Abbas, M. Y.
Prior research has revealed that an optimal healing environment can enhance a child’s quality of life by supporting the healing process. However, little has been done to identify specific design features within an optimal healing environment that either impede or aid the healing process.
Added April 2014
Nurses’ Perception of Single-Occupancy Versus Multioccupancy Rooms in Acute Care Environments: An Exploratory Comparative Assessment
2006
Applied Nursing Research
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 19
Pages 118-125
Author(s): Chaudhury, H., Mahmood, A., Valente, M.
As people are living longer and the baby boomers age, the demand for hospital beds will increase. As new facilities are built to handle this influx of patients, the challenge for hospital designers and administrators is to design patient rooms that promote therapeutic goals, foster positive patient outcomes, and function as intensive care rooms. Recent research suggests that single-occupancy rooms are more suitable for infection control and patient care than multioccupancy rooms. However, no research has been done about nursing staff members’ perception of single-occupancy and multioccupancy patient rooms in acute care settings as it relates to patient care.
Added April 2014
Environmental evaluation for workplace violence in healthcare and social services
2008
Journal of Safety Research
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 39
Pages 237-50
Author(s): McPhaul, K.M. , Murrett, K., Flannery, K. , Rosen, J., Lipscomb, J., London, M.
The purpose of this project was to contribute specific, evidence–based guidance to the healthcare and social services employer communities regarding the use of environmental design to prevent violence.
Added April 2014
