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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 34

Influences of physical layout and space on patient safety and communication in ambulatory oncology practices: A multisite, mixed method investigation

Author(s): Fauer, A., Wright, N., Lafferty, M., Harrod, M., Manojlovich, M., Friese, C. R.
Data from 2016 to 2020 indicate that the market for ambulatory oncology services is expanding, presenting a need for a deeper understanding of how the physical space of these environments influences clinician work processes and patient safety.
Key Point Summary
Added July 2021

The influence of spatial design on team communication in hospital emergency departments

Author(s): Naccarella, L., Raggatt, M., Redley, B.
Hospital emergency departments (EDs) are often high-intensity, busy, and complex environments treating especially sensitive patient populations in a time-sensitive manner. The nature of ED environments places added emphasis on the importance of clear communication between staff members and how the overall design of an ED might impact these interactions.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2018

Field Observations into the Environmental Soul: Spatial Configuration and Social Life for People Experiencing Dementia

Author(s): Ferdous, F., Moore, K. D.
Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) serving people with dementia are often designed with visiting family members or friends in mind rather than the needs of the patients themselves. The authors suggest that architectural designs within LTCFs should be considered from the perspective of the patients occupying these environments.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2017

Key Spatial Factors Influencing the Perceived Privacy in Nursing Units: An Exploration Study With Eight Nursing Units in Hong Kong

Author(s): Lu, Y., Cai, H., Bosch, S. J.
Healthcare designers are faced with a challenging task when trying to balance patient privacy with safety and well-being. While patients typically expect some degree of privacy during their treatment processes, it is also commonly understood that caregivers need appropriate access to them so that proper treatment can be administered.
Key Point Summary
Added October 2016

A nursing home staff tool for the indoor visual environment: The content validity

Author(s): Sinoo, M. M., Kort, H. S. M., Loomans, M. G. L. C., Schols, J. M. G. A.
Visual impairments affecting residents of nursing homes can arise from numerous causes, and they can directly affect these residents’ quality of life by jeopardizing their ability to participate in daily activities such as reading, watching television, or even interacting with others. The physical makeup of the nursing home itself can work to either help or hinder its residents, and in cases in which the environment is beneficial, the nursing home can be called an “environmental fit.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2016

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

To see or not to see: Investigating the links between patient visibility and potential moderators affecting the patient experience

Author(s): Bosch, S. J., Apple, M., Hiltonen, B., Worden, E., Lu, Yi, Nanda, U., Kim, D.
The amount of visibility between patients and nursing staff contributes significantly to the balance between feelings of security and autonomy. Hospitals in which patients are in constant view of the staff can create a sense of restricted freedom, but high visibility can also be associated with higher levels of patient safety. There has been ongoing debate within the medical community as to how a perfect balance between security and autonomy can be implemented. This study took place at a hospital with a radial nursing unit.
Key Point Summary
Added April 2016

Delusions and Underlying Needs in Older Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease

Author(s): Wang, J., Cheng, W., Lai, P., & Pai, M.
The purpose of this study was to understand the influences of earlier life experiences and the current environment on delusions, as well as the underlying needs of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) experiencing delusions.
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

How Can We Help Staff transition to a New NICU design?

Author(s): Broom, M., Gardner, A., Kecskes, Z. , Kildea, S.
This article highlights the results of a literature review undertaken to identify transition strategies for staff who moved from an open plan unit layout to a single-room design (SRD) neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) layout.
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

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

Intensive care unit design and mortality in trauma patients

Author(s): Pettit, N. R., Wood, T., Lieber, M., O'Mara, M. S.
A primary concern for many patient care units is the question of where to place more seriously ill patients within the space that is available. Questions regarding the impact of architectural features, such as the availability of natural lighting, or adjacency to nurse stations on patient health outcomes should be further explored so that increasingly effective healthcare environments can be established. Currently, no data exist demonstrating whether trauma patients receiving treatment in intensive care unit (ICU) beds with poor visibility from a central nursing station experience health outcomes different from those in rooms that may be more visible from the nursing station.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2015

Network of Spaces and Interaction-Related Behaviors in Adult Intensive Care Units

Author(s): Rashid, M., Boyle, D. K., Crosser, M.
Using three spatial network measures of “space syntax”, this correlational study describes four interaction-related behaviors among three groups of users in relation to visibility and accessibility of spaces in four adult intensive care units (ICUs) of different size, geometry, and specialty. Systematic field observations of interaction-related behaviors show significant differences in spatial distribution of interaction-related behaviors in the ICUs.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2015

Impact of the physical environment of psychiatric wards on the use of seclusion

Author(s): van der Schaaf, P. S., Dusseldorp, E., Keuning, F. M., Janssen, W. A., Noorthoorn, E. O.
Disturbed behavior and patient aggression within psychiatric wards can threaten both patient and staff safety. To manage these patients, psychiatric wards often will use coercive measures such as solitary confinement. Patient aggression arises from a complex interaction between patient characteristics, staff characteristics, and the characteristics of the physical environment of the psychiatric ward itself. Most studies have focused on the dynamics between patient and staff characteristics; little research has been done to investigate how the physical environment of psychiatric wards might influence patient aggression and subsequently the use of coercive measures.
Key Point Summary
Added October 2015

One size fits all? Mixed methods evaluation of the impact of 100% single-room accommodation on staff and patient experience, safety and costs

Author(s): Maben, J., Griffiths, P., Penfold, C., Simon, M, Anderson, J. E., Robert, G., Pizzo, E., Hughes, J., Murrells, T., Barlow, J.
Authors indicate that despite the trend to adopt single-patient rooms, there is a dearth of strong evidence regarding its effect on healthcare quality and safety. When a hospital in England moved to a new building with 100% single rooms, a before-and-after move study was conducted on patient and staff experience, safety outcomes, and cost analysis. The study found that over two-thirds of the patients and one-fifth of the staff preferred single rooms.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2015

Ceiling art in a radiation therapy department: its effect on patient treatment experience

Author(s): Bonett, J.
In computed tomography (CT) rooms, an important element in conducting effective radiation therapy is stabilizing each patient in a comfortable, reproducible position. Devices such as neck and head masks, knee rests and foot locks are often used to stabilize patients, but emotional reactions from patients can impede upon their ability to maintain the necessary treatment positions. Healthcare environments have recently begun implementing art into their structural design in order to reduce stress and anxiety in patients while increasing overall satisfaction with the treatment experience.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2015

Exploring Safety and Quality In a Hemodialysis Environment With Participatory Photographic Methods: A Restorative Approach.

Author(s): Marck, P., Molzahn, A., Berry-Hauf, R., Hutchings, L. G., Hughes, S.
The authors indicate that hemodialysis units can be fraught with numerous safety issues related to medication errors, lapses in communication, patient falls, equipment issues, infection control, etc. These issues can be critical in high-acuity units. This study used qualitative methods to identify existing and potential safety issues in a hemodialysis unit in a tertiary care hospital in Canada.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2015

Exploring Perceptions of Designers and Medical Staff in South Korea about Design Elements for the Elder-Friendly Hospital

Author(s): Kim, D., Lee, J. H., Ha, M.
The elderly population is growing around the world and so is the geriatric patient population. The authors indicate that despite the fact that the elderly will soon be the primary users of healthcare services, healthcare facilities are not designed for the elderly. In this study, designers and medical staff were asked to rate the importance of 33 design elements in the context of an elder-friendly hospital.
Key Point Summary
Added August 2015

From “Baby Barn” to the “Single Family Room Designed NICU”: A Report of Staff Perceptions One Year Post Occupancy

Author(s): Cone, S. K., Short, S., Gutcher, G.
Single Family Rooms (SFRs) are becoming an increasingly popular design model in the care of critically ill preterm infants. The advantages of this physical environment to the infant, family and care providers is well documented.
Key Point Summary
Added July 2015