Environmental Correlates of Safety and Efficiency in Emergency Departments
Author(s): Pati, D., Harvey, T. E., Vincent, D., Evans, J., Pati, S., Bazuin, D., Derr, M. A.
Whether from professional or governmental institutions or from the popular press, stories abound of the challenges EDs (emergency departments) face (Berger, 2006). Every day, EDs have to treat an ever-rising number of patients coming through their doors, many of whom have highly complex conditions.
Added April 2018
Selecting a pharmacy layout design using a weighted scoring system
2012
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy
Journal Article
Issue 9
Volume 69
Pages 796-804
Author(s): McDowell, A. L., Huang, Y.-L.
Previous studies have found that effectively planning the construction of a facility can reduce operational inefficiencies and lower costs by as much as 30%. Since pharmacies are focused on the distribution of supplies rather than interactions with patients, they could hypothetically benefit from process-improvement techniques that are often used in manufacturing industries for layout designs.
Added May 2017
Shift work: health, performance and safety problems, traditional countermeasures, and innovative management strategies to reduce circadian misalignment
2012
Nature and Science of Sleep
Journal Article
Author(s): Eastman, C. I., Smith, M. R.
This paper is a review of the literature related to health, performance, and safety problems associated with night shift work. The review of articles and research papers focused on circadian misalignment between the individual’s internal circadian clock and activities such as work, sleep, and eating. There is also discussion about chronic partial sleep deprivation and melatonin suppression at night. The articles reviewed include theory papers and research papers.
Added November 2016
From the nurses' station to the health team hub: How can design promote interprofessional collaboration?
2012
Journal of Interprofessional Care
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 26
Pages 21-27
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.
Added June 2016
Development of the Content and Quality in Briefs Instrument (CQB-I)
2012
Health Environments Research and Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 5
Pages 74-88
Author(s): Elf, M., Engstram, M., Wijk, H.
To develop a tool to assess the content and quality of information in briefing documents. A well-developed brief is important because “The brief is essential for capturing users’ needs and guides the whole building process from planning to construction.”
Added January 2016
Making acuity-adaptable units work: lessons from the field
2012
Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 5
Pages 115-128
Author(s): Zimring, C., Seo, H.
Acuity-Adaptable Units (AAUs) are rooms with a treatment model that allows all stages of patient care to come to the patient’s unit from the time of admission to discharge. Minimizing the amount of patient transfers helps decrease medication errors, infection rates, and medical complications. This helps avoid injuries and infections connected with patient transfers from unit to unit through transitions in stages of care.
Added January 2016
Sleep in Hospitalized Elders: A Pilot Study
2012
Geriatric Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 31
Pages 263-172
Author(s): Missildine, K., Bergstrom, N., Meininger, J., Richards, K. & Foreman, M. D.
Sleep complaints are common among elders at home and in the hospital. These complaints include insomnia, difficulty falling sleep, and difficulty maintaining sleep, yet adequate sleep is commonly considered a necessary prerequisite to healing and recovery from illness.
Added January 2016
Eye Masks and Earplugs Improve Patient’s Perception of Sleep
2012
Nursing in Critical Care
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 17
Pages 247-235
Author(s): Jones, C. & Dawson, D.
Sleep disruption is commonly identified as a feature of admission to critical care units. The environment, level of intervention, and patient morbidity are understood to influence patients’ poor experiences of sleep in critical care. This study discusses the impact of the built environment on Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients’ sleep.
Added January 2016
Ergonomics Principles Associated with Laparoscopic Surgeon Injury/Illness
2012
Human Factors
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 54
Pages 1087-1092
Author(s): Miller, K., Benden, M.., Pickens, A., Shipp, A., & Zheng, Q.
Although laparoscopic procedures significantly benefit patients in terms of decreased recovery times and improved outcomes, they contribute to mental fatigue and musculoskeletal problems among surgeons. A variety of ergonomic interventions and applications are implemented by surgeons to reduce health problems.
Added January 2016
Thermal Comfort Standards, Measured Internal Temperatures and Thermal Resilience to Climate Change of Free-running Buildings: A Case-Study of Hospital Wards
2012
Building and Environment
Journal Article
Author(s): Lomas, K. J. & Giridharan, R.
There is increasing debate about the impact that climate change may have on the internal summertime temperatures in UK buildings because future summers are likely to be both warmer and drier and there is likely to be an increase in the occurrence of extreme temperatures.
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
Destination Bedside
2012
The Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 42
Pages 256-265
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.
Added January 2016
Intervention to Lower Anxiety of 18F-FDG PET/CT Patients by Use of Audiovisual Imagery During the Uptake Phase Before Imaging
2012
Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 40
Pages 92-98
Author(s): Vogel, W. V., Valdés Olmos, R. A., Tijs, T. J. W., Gillies, M. F., van Elswijk, G., Vogt, J.
PET (positron emission tomography) is a method for imaging functional processes in the body. Many patients undergoing PET experience high levels of anxiety throughout the procedure. High patient anxiety can affect hospital workflow and overall patient experience, and can cause false-positive uptake of 18F-FDG, a necessary biomarker that is administered to patients via injection and detected by PET scanners in order to render images. 18F-FDG uptake can occur in both muscles and brown adipose tissue (BAT).
Added September 2015
The single-patient room in the NICU: maternal and family effects
2012
Journal of Perinatology
Journal Article
Issue 7
Volume 32
Pages 545-551
Author(s): Pineda, R. G., Stransky, K. E., Rogers, C., Duncan, M. H., Smith, G. C., Neil, J., Inder, T.
The authors allude to the references in literature about the stress associated with being the parent of an infant in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Indicating that the physical environment of a NICU may afford the possibility of alleviating such stress, the authors present the findings of this study which aimed to explore the relationship between the type of NICU room (single-patient versus open bay), parental practices and maternal health.
Added July 2015
Impact of the Design of Neonatal Intensive Care Units on Neonates, Staff, and Families: A Systematic Literature Review
2012
The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 26
Pages 267-268
Author(s): Shahheidari, M., Homer, C.
The authors indicate that the design of NICUs incorporating single family rooms as evidence indicates this room type contributes to the better development of babies, facilitates increased parental involvement in care, controls infection, and reduces noise and length of stay.
Added July 2015
Patients and Their Families Weigh in on Evidence-Based Hospital Design
2012
Critical Care Nurse
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 32
Pages e1-e10
Author(s): Trochelman, K., Albert, N., Spence, J., Murray, T., Slifcak, E.
Literature indicates that design of a healthcare facility impacts quality of care, patient safety, patient satisfaction, staff satisfaction, and outcomes. Evidence-based design (EBD) is increasingly becoming a guiding principle in the design of new healthcare facilities. As research on EBD evolves and more hospitals and architects use EBD recommendations, it becomes imperative to consider the perspectives of patients and families.
Added May 2015
Users' views of hospital environmental quality: Validation of the Perceived Hospital Environment Quality Indicators (PHEQIs)
2012
Journal of Environmental Psychology
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 32
Pages 97-111
Author(s): Andrade, C., Lima, M. L., Fornara, F., Bonaiuto, M
The hospital physical environment has been researched for years but its impact on patient outcomes is still in need of validation. The perception of the medical facility as a “healing environment” rather than a “curing machine” is being adopted by new hospitals. Improved physical environments generate overall satisfaction with medical services.
Added May 2015
Healing environment: A review of the impact of physical environmental factors on users
2012
Building and Environment
Journal Article
Author(s): Huisman, E. R. C. M., Morales, E., van Hoof, J., Kort, H. S. M.
According to the authors, research that examines the physical environment and its impact on the healing and well-being of human beings has been growing in the last several years. There is increasing availability of literature on evidence-based design.
Added March 2015
Impacts of indoor daylight environments on patient average length of stay (ALOS) in a healthcare facility
2012
Building and Environment
Journal Article
Author(s): Choi, J.-H., Beltran, L. O., Kim, H.-S.
One of the components that increases the quality of the indoor environment in hospitals is window views with access to daylight. The orientation of a window can be significant to the amount of daylight a room can get. This study examined the indoor environments of patient rooms located on different sides of a hospital building to investigate the impact of daylight on the length of stay.
Added March 2015
Using human factors engineering to improve patient safety in the cardiovascular operating room
2012
Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation
Journal Article
Volume 41
Pages 1801-1804
Author(s): Gurses, A. P., Martinez, E. A., Bauer, L., Kim, G., Lubomski, L. H., Marsteller, J. A., Pennathur, P. R., Goeschel, C., Pronovost, P. J., Thompson, D.
Cardiac surgery, despite technological and medical advances, involves high risks related to adverse events and medical errors that occur in the operating room. The Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model was used to guide the research – focusing on the different variables (providers, physical environment, tools and technologies, tasks, organization) in the care environment and the impact of their interaction on patient outcomes.
Added March 2015
