× You are not currently logged in. To receive all the benefits our site has to offer, we encourage you to log in now.

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.

RESEARCH IN A SNAP HOW-TO VIDEOS  ADDITIONAL RESOURCES VIEW TOUR

Supported by:

Additional content by:

Sort by

Displaying 1 - 12 of 12

Impact of the Physical Environment of Residential Health, Care, and Support Facilities (RHCSF) on Staff and Residents A Systematic Review of the Literature

Author(s): Joseph, A., Choi, Y.-S., Quan, X.
Strategies related to the design of the built environment should be considered within the context of the culture of the organization and the resident population. This study of the physical environment of residential health, care, and support facilities addresses the range of settings and population, where other studies have been lacking. The literature review strongly suggests that the built environment is an important component of care provided in residential care settings.
Key Point Summary
Added May 2016

Light for Nurses’ Work in the 21st Century: A Review of Lighting, Human Vision Limitations, and Medication Administration

Author(s): Graves, K., Symes, L., & Cesario, S. K.
While there has been previous documentation about the impact of the built environment on staff efficiency, little has been documented about the role of architectural lighting on staff’s ability to perform work tasks. The authors cite specific examples of how medications are often distributed on night shifts, sometimes when nurses use pen lights so as not to disturb patients.
Key Point Summary
Added January 2016

The Business Case for Building Better Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Author(s): Shepley, M., Smith, J.A., Sadler, B.L. & White, R.D.
There is increasing evidence that the physical environment of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has a tangible effect on the vulnerable infants who spend the first crucial weeks or months of their life there.
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

Luminous environment in healthcare buildings for user satisfaction and comfort: an objective and subjective field study

Author(s): Lo Verso, V. R.M., Caffaro, F., Aghemo, C.
Lighting is important in healthcare, and the authors indicate its relevance to patient recovery and staff satisfaction. According to the authors, luminous environmental quality affects visual comfort, which is related to both natural and artificial lighting.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2015

Healing environment: A review of the impact of physical environmental factors on users

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.
Key Point Summary
Added March 2015

Long-term care physical environments- effect on medication errors

Author(s): Mahmood, A., Chaudhury, H., Gaumont, A., Rust, T.
Medication errors contribute significantly to patient morbidity and mortality, and are associated with considerable healthcare costs, as well. The human and financial costs following preventable medical errors are high; data in the United States suggest an estimated 44,000 inpatients die each year from preventable medical errors. Nationally, preventable adverse event costs have been estimated at $17 billion.
Key Point Summary
Added July 2014

The Effect of Environmental Design on Reducing Nursing Errors and Increasing Efficiency in Acute Care Settings: A Review and Analysis of the Literature

Author(s): Chaudhury, H., Mahmood, A., Valente, M.
In acute care settings, the physical environment plays an important role in staff efficiency and patient safety. Some research suggests that poor environments can result in staff stress, anxiety, and distractions due to noise; artificial lighting; improper or inadequate ventilation; and disorienting layouts of nursing units. There is less research on how environmental factors affect nursing staff health, effectiveness, errors, and job satisfaction.
Key Point Summary
Added April 2014

Threading Needles in the Dark: The Effect of the Physical Work Environment on Nursing Practice

Author(s): Simmons, D., Graves, K., Flynn, E. A.
People’s ability to perform reliably and safely relies on the physical work environment. Nowhere is this connection more critical than in healthcare environments, which can be noisy, dimly lit, and chaotic. The United States Pharmacopeia addresses this issue in its draft general chapter of standards, “Physical Environments that Promote Safe Medication Use,” which specifies work environment guidelines to support efficient and safe medication use.
Key Point Summary
Added February 2014

Nurses’ Perceptions of How physical Environment Affects Medication Errors in Acute Care Settings

Author(s): Mahmood, A., Chaudhury, H., Valente, M.
Medication errors in hospitals occur for a number of reasons, stemming from staff and organizational issues to aspects of the physical environment. Errors include omissions, giving the wrong type or amount of medication, and giving the wrong patient unneeded medication. Research has indicated that a significant amount of these errors are avoidable.
Key Point Summary
Added February 2014

Medication Dispensing Errors in Community Pharmacies: A Nationwide Study

Author(s): Flynn, E. A., Dorris, N. T., Holman, G. T., Camahan, B. J., Barker, K. N
The available literature concerning medication dispensing errors provides relatively few studies that focus on community-based pharmacies, as much of the available research regarding dispensing errors has been conducted in single pharmacies that are associated with hospitals and medical centers, largely due to convenience. Although the dispensing process may be essentially the same, the validity of extending these findings to community pharmacies has yet to be tested.
Key Point Summary
Added October 2012

A seasonal pattern of hospital medication errors in Alaska

Author(s): Booker, J. M., Roseman, C.
Specific behavioral consequences of seasonal affective disorder have not been closely examined. Length of daylight is evaluated in relation to medication errors in a medical center located in the far north. Factors such as numbers of patient admissions, discharges, and deaths were controlled with data collected in Anchorage, Alaska, over 5 consecutive years, 1985-89. These data revealed that 58%...
Key Point Summary
Added August 2012