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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 61 - 80 of 296

Room for caring: patients' experiences of well-being, relief and hope during serious illness

Author(s): Timmermann, C., Uhrenfeldt, L., Birkelund, R.
The positive impact of pleasing hospital aesthetics, both in terms of uplifted moods and improved health outcomes in patients, has been documented and discussed throughout history. From ancient Greeks to Florence Nightingale to modern evidence-based health design, the belief that the hospital environment itself, apart from its technical and clinical abilities, actively contributes to the healing process has resurfaced repeatedly. Despite this, scarcely any empirical research has been done to show how seriously ill patients personally experience their hospital rooms, and what these experiences mean to them during the healing process.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2015

The Impact of a Flexible Care Area on Throughput Measures in an Academic Emergency Department

Author(s): McGrath, J., LeGare, A., Hermanson, L., Repplinger, M. D.
This paper explores the implementation of a novel strategy which involved the creation of a “flexible care area” (FCA), a space designed for initiating patient evaluations and treatments at the beginning of a patient’s visit.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2015

Ready-JET-Go: Split Flow Accelerates ED Throughput

Author(s): Bish, P. A., McCormick, M. A., Otegbeye, M.
Emergency departments (ED) in America have seen large increases in demand for emergency services over the last decade. This increased demand for ED services has resulted in delayed treatment for patients, increased rates of patients leaving the ED without receiving treatment, and decreases in satisfactory ED visit experiences.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2015

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

Energy Efficiency in Hospitals: Historical Development, Trends and Perspectives

Author(s): Papadopoulos, A. M., Boemi, S.-N., Irulegi, O., Santamouris, M.
Added December 2015

The Green House Model of Nursing Home Care in Design and Implementation

Author(s): Cohen, L. W., Zimmerman, S., Reed, D., Brown, P., Bowers, B. J., Nolet, K., Hudak, S., Horn, S., the THRIVE Research Collaborative
The Green House (GH) model of nursing home (NH) care is a trademarked model created in 2012 that seeks to undo the social stigmas and inefficiencies commonly associated with NHs. GH homes are marked by smaller-sized homes (10-12 residents) located in community neighborhoods, personalized care procedures that are tailored to individual patient needs, and 24-hour nurse availability.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2015

A hierarchical facility layout planning approach for large and complex hospitals

Author(s): Helber, S., Böhme, D., Oucherif, F., Lagershausen, S., Kasper, S.
Added November 2015

Evaluation of factors and approaches affecting emergency department space planning

Author(s): Pascale, F., Achour, N., Price, A. D. F., Polverino, F.
Increasing demand for care in emergency departments (EDs) is a widespread issue that has provoked the development of different processes to help reduce the struggles faced by healthcare providers. By investigating the different methods healthcare designers have implemented to reduce the costs and complications associated with ED overcrowding and inefficiency, more resilient designs may be realized in the future.
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

Do Cost Savings from Reductions in Nosocomial Infections Justify Additional Costs of Single-Bed Rooms in Intensive Care Units? A Simulation Case Study

Author(s): Sadatsafavi, H., Niknejad, B., Zadeh, R., Sadatsafavi, M.
Nosocomial infections are infections that are acquired in healthcare facilities. They are a key factor in decisions to construct and maintain single-patient bedrooms in intensive care units (ICUs), since single-patient rooms have been shown to greatly reduce instances of nosocomial infections. However, no prior studies have investigated whether the resource savings incurred from reducing nosocomial infections are worth the construction and maintenance costs required for single-patient bedrooms in ICUs.
Key Point Summary
Added October 2015

Analysis of Persian Gardens using Kaplan’s landscape preference theory (Case study: Fin garden, Shazdeh Mahan garden, Eram Garden & El Goli garden)

Author(s): Rezakolai, S. A., Samadi, D., Tabatabaian, M.
Added June 2015

Collaborative design: outdoor environments for veterans with PTSD

Author(s): Wagenfeld, A., Roy‐Fisher, C., Mitchell, C.
The environment has a positive impact on health outcomes. The authors indicate that this is particularly significant in the case of residential healthcare facilities where patients are required to stay for long periods of time.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2014

Translating Quality Care Factors to Quality Space: Design Criteria for Outpatient Facility

Author(s): Samah, Z. A., Ibrahim, N., Amir, J. S.
Added December 2014

Space, Choice and Control, and Quality of Life in Care Settings for Older People

Author(s): Barnes, S.
In Britain, residential care and nursing homes for elderly patients have been subject to changing design regulations over several decades. These regulations take into account the “gradations of space” allotted to patients, meaning the extent to which the buildings themselves provide public, semiprivate, and private spaces for the patients.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2014

Visiting Outdoor Green Environments Positively Iimpacts Self-Rated Health among Older People In Long-Term Care

Author(s): Rappe, E., Kivela, S. L., Rita, H.
The restorative effects of nature in enhancing well-being are well documented. Seeing greenery or being in nature reduces stress, promotes attention capacity, and improves mood. Studies of older people living in institutions indicate positive associations between well-being of the residents and closeness of a green environment. Visiting an outdoor green environment is associated with better ability to concentrate and improved mood among the older people living in nursing homes. Plants and garden environments may contribute to psychological and social well-being of older people with dementia, according to nursing staff. Although health-related factors can impact on self-rated health among the older people living in nursing care, results from previous studies indicate that outdoor visits may also have an impact.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014

A neural wayfinding mechanism adjusts for ambiguous landmark information

Author(s): Janzen, G., Jansen, C.
In order to find their way through their surroundings, people need to adapt to different and changing environments. Objects placed in strategic locations can serve as helpful navigational cues. Using functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI) to monitor brain activity, this study investigates how the brain is able to distinguish and process helpful information from the environment for navigational purposes.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014

Conveniently located “napping rooms” provide opportunity for night- and extended-shift providers to rest, leading to less fatigue and better performance.

Author(s):
Healthcare providers are known for working unacceptably long hours and being chronically sleep deprived. Often, physicians and nurses work 24+ hour shifts, leading to fatigue and avoidable errors that put both caregivers and patients at risk of serious injury or death. Acute and chronic sleep deprivation can mimic the effects of drunkenness.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014

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

Provider Communication and Role Modeling Related to Patients' Perceptions and Use of a Federally Qualified Health Center-based Farmers' Market

Author(s): Friedman, D. B., Freedman, D. A., Choi, S. K., Anadu, E. C., Brandt, H. M., Carvalho, N., Hurley, T.G., Young, V. M., Hebert, J. R.
Added November 2014

Building design and performance: A comparative longitudinal assessment of a children's hospital

Author(s): Thiel, C. L., Needy, K. L., Ries, R., Hupp, D., Bilec, M. M.
The aesthetics and design of a medical treatment facility can influence energy consumption, staff performance, and patient recovery. Evidence-Based Design (EBD) has been cited in many studies as an effective way to improve healthcare outcomes and hospitals’ performance, but further investigation is needed. This is particularly true at a whole-building level, to reveal the relationship between building design and health, and to observe the performance of newer building designs, especially with regard to green healthcare buildings.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014