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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 1 - 20 of 45

Anticipated Advantages and Disadvantages of a move to 100% Single Room Hospital in Australia: A Case Study

Author(s): Cusack, L., Wiechula, R., Schultz, T., Dollard, J., Maben, J.
Added February 2019

An Assessment of Levels of Safety in Psychiatric Units

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.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2016

Security Implications of Physical Design Attributes in the Emergency Department

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.
Key Point Summary
Added September 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.
Key Point Summary
Added June 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

Preparing an ICU room to welcome a critically ill patient with Ebola virus disease

Author(s): Pasquier, P., Ficko, C., Mérens, A., Dubost, C.
Ebola virus disease is a viral hemorrhagic fever that spreads through direct contact with the body fluids of an infected animal or human. Contamination may also occur through contact with items that were recently contacted by infected bodily fluids. No spread of the disease through the air has been documented. As no specific treatment or vaccine for the virus is currently available, specially coordinated medical services are necessary to control outbreaks.
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

Physical Design Correlates of Efficiency and Safety in Emergency Departments: A Qualitative Examination

Author(s): Pati, D., Harvey, T. E., Pati, S.
The objective of this study was to explore and identify physical design correlates of safety and efficiency in emergency department (ED) operations. This study adopted an exploratory, multimeasure approach to (1) examine the interactions between ED operations and physical design at 4 sites and (2) identify domains of physical design decision-making that potentially influence efficiency and safety. Multidisciplinary gaming and semistructured interviews were conducted with stakeholders at each site.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2015

Part 1: Evidence-Based Facility Design Using Transforming Care at the Bedside Principles

Author(s): Devine, D. A., Wenger, B., Krugman, M., Zwink, J. E., Shiskowsky, K., Hagman, J., Limon, S., Sanders, C., Reeves, C.
A western academic hospital reexamined its design strategy when after three years of building a new facility they had to plan for a new facility to meet their patient capacity. Using a combination of the principles of Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) and Evidence-Based Design (EBD), an interdisciplinary team presented design recommendations.
Key Point Summary
Added April 2015

Realizing improved patient care through human-centered operating room design: A human factors methodology for observing flow disruptions in the cardiothoracic operating room

Author(s): Palmer, G., Abernathy, J. H., Swinton, G., Allison, D., Greenstein, J., Shappell, S., Juang, K., Reeves, S. T.
The authors indicate that disruptions in the workflow of surgeries can extend surgery times and contribute to the escalation of healthcare costs.
Key Point Summary
Added March 2015

Space to care and treat safely in acute hospitals: Recommendations from 1866 to 2008

Author(s): Hignett, S., Lu, J.
Bed space, defined in this study as the area around an individual bed offering privacy either as a curtained or screened cubicle or a single room in a ward holding multiple occupants, is the most frequently repeated design envelope in an acute care hospital. Since patients, staff, visitors, and other people will occupy this space at one point or another for a variety of different purposes, a complex design challenge exists. In 1893, Florence Nightingale successfully argued for less cramped bedrooms and overall improvements in hospital designs.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2014

Sustained reduction in serious fall-related injuries in older people in hospital.

Author(s): Fonda, D., Cook, J., Sandler, V., Bailey, M.
Falls are the leading cause of injury in Australian hospitals, with 38 percent of all hospital incidents related to falls. In hospital settings, single interventions have not been proven successful in preventing or reducing falls, whereas multisystem or multi-strategy approaches have shown to be more effective.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014

Hospital bathroom ergonomics: Safety, usability and accessibility issues

Author(s): Capodaglio, E. M.
The design of a hospital bathroom is important in terms of its usability and accessibility and crucial for patient and staff safety. A bathroom’s design and layout becomes more important in a rehabilitation unit, where patient mobility is restricted for various reasons.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014

Impact of Isolation on Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Scores: Is Isolation Isolating?

Author(s): Vinski, J., Bertin, M., Sun, Z., Gordon, S. M., Bokar, D., Merlino, J., Fraser, T. G.
Added November 2014

Same-handed patient room configurations: anecdotal and empirical evidence

Author(s): Stichler, J. F., McCullough, C.
Added September 2014

An Evaluation of Operating Room Safety and Efficiency: Pilot Utilization of a Structured Focus Group Format and Three-Dimensional Video Mock-Up To Inform Design Decision Making

Author(s): Watkins, N., Kobelja, M., Peavey, E., Thomas, S., Lyon, J.
While surgical and interventional procedures are the most profitable services within the hospital, the cost of building and maintaining an OR can quickly reduce the profitability of running an OR. Due to this precarious balance of revenue and cost, the planning and design of an OR should look to reduce injury to staff and prevent unnecessary costs, while increasing operational efficiencies.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2014

A decade of adult intensive care unit design: a study of the physical design features of the best-practice examples

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.
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

Nurses’ Perception of Single-Occupancy Versus Multioccupancy Rooms in Acute Care Environments: An Exploratory Comparative Assessment

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.
Key Point Summary
Added April 2014

Suicide and self-harm in inpatient psychiatric units: a study of nursing issues in 31 cases

Author(s): Gournay, K., Bowers, L.
A significant number of incidents of suicide and self-harm occur in in-patient facilities. This study comprises of the review and audit of 31 suicide cases, each case being the subject of legal action brought by patients and/or their families.
Key Point Summary
Added April 2014