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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 31

Exploring the Effects of Clinical Exam Room Design on Communication, Technology Interaction, and Satisfaction

Author(s): Zamani, Z., Harper, E. C.
The use of electronic health records (EHRs) in exam rooms is common, but research assessing the impact of EHRs on the exam experience is mixed. Limited research for healthcare design suggests exam room layouts can influence patient-provider interactions through improved information sharing.
Key Point Summary
Added February 2019

A regional survey on residents’ preferences on patient-centered medical home design in rural areas

Author(s): Cai, H., Spreckelmeyer, K., Mendenhall, A., Li, D., Holmes, C., Levy, M.
The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a delivery model for primary care that is characterized by the recognition of unique patient needs while providing accessible services, a focus on safety and quality, comprehensive care, and coordinated care.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2018

A Novel ICU Hand-Over Tool: The Glass Door of the Patient Room

Author(s): Wessman, B. T., Sona, C., Schallom, M.
The Institute of Medicine has identified poor communication among the patient care team as one of the most common causes of serious errors in patient care. There was a desire in this organization to create a culture of team-oriented continuity of care by changing the mindset of handoff reporting to handover reporting communication among multidisciplinary care team members on key aspects of the patient’s daily plan of care. They developed a communication tool that included key areas of care (tests, care goals and progress toward those goals, treatments, and consultation recommendations) and printed the topic areas on the glass door of the patient room. The information was updated regularly throughout the day/night so that the most current information on patient status was available any time for rounding by various care providers, specialists, and consultants. The information was also available for viewing by the patient’s family.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2017

Nursing staff’s experiences of working in an evidence-based designed ICU patient room—An interview study

Author(s): Sundberg, F., Olausson, S., Fridh, I., Lindahl, B.
Intensive care unit nurses use technology and systems that may not have existed when their nursing units were constructed. Nurses often must work around machines and in narrow spaces to deliver complex care to critically ill patients.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2017

Factors Affecting Acoustics and Speech Intelligibility in the Operating Room: Size Matters

Author(s): McNeer, R. R., Bennett, C. L., Horn, D. B., Dudaryk, R.
Previous studies have shown that noise levels within healthcare environments have been increasing steadily since 1960. Noise is a prominent source of discomfort for both patients and staff, and can also interfere with important interpersonal communications.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2017

"Let's Sit Forward": Investigating Interprofessional Communication, Collaboration, Professional Roles, and Physical Space at EmergiCare

Author(s): Dean, M., Gill, R., Barbour, J. B.
Due to the fact that emergency department (ED) caregivers are constantly involved in interprofessional, knowledge-intensive conversations, effective modes of communication necessarily play a key role in promoting patient health and safety. Previous studies have explored how the physical environment directly affects modes of communication, and how these two dimensions of the healthcare environment constantly intersect with each other.
Key Point Summary
Added August 2016

From the nurses' station to the health team hub: How can design promote interprofessional collaboration?

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.
Key Point Summary
Added June 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

Adapting to Family-Centered Hospital Design: Changes in Providers’ Attitudes over a Two-Year Period

Author(s): France, D., Throop, P., Joers, B., Allen, L., Parekh, A., Rickard, D., Deshpande, J.
Although hospitals are being designed based on evidence-based design principles, it’s unclear how working in such an environment influences providers’ attitudes and professional performance.
Key Point Summary
Added January 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

Innovation Pilot Study: Acute Care for Elderly (ACE) Unit--Promoting Patient-Centric Care

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.
Key Point Summary
Added January 2016

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

Fall prevention and bathroom safety in the epilepsy monitoring unit

Author(s): Spritzer, S. D., Riordan, K. C., Berry, J., Corbett, B. M., Gerke, J. K., Hoerth, M. T., Crepeau, A. Z., Drazkowski, J. F., Sirven, J. I., Noe, K. H.
Injury-inducing falls are one of the most common harmful events that occur in epilepsy monitoring units (EMUs). Considering the risk provoked by epileptic symptoms such as spontaneous seizures, patients admitted to EMUs may be more likely to sustain falling injuries over patients in other areas of the hospital.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2015

Part 2: Evaluation and Outcomes of an Evidence-Based Facility Design Project

Author(s): Krugman, M., Sanders, C., Kinney, L. J.
After a western academic hospital implemented the recommendations of an interdisciplinary team that combined the principles of Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) and Evidence-Based Design (EBD), an evaluation was necessary. This article (Part 2) presents the evaluation of the project.
Key Point Summary
Added June 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

Effects of Revised Consultation Room Design on Patient–Physician Communication

Author(s): Ajiboye, F., Dong, F., Moore, J., Kallail, K. J., Baughman, A.
As use of healthcare facilities increases across the United States, outpatient facilities have become a primary treatment environment for many patients. Despite this growth in usage and a host of technological advancements, the common design of outpatient examination rooms has remained mostly static since World War II.
Key Point Summary
Added March 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

Why do patients in acute care hospitals fall? Can falls be prevented?

Author(s): Dykes, P. C., Carroll, D. L., Hurley, A. C., Benoit, A., Middleton, B.
Despite a large quantitative evidence base for guiding fall risk assessment and not needing highly technical, scarce, or expensive equipment to prevent falls, falls are serious problems in hospitals.
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

An exploration of the meanings of space and place in acute psychiatric care

Author(s): Andes, M., Shattell, M. M.
The effectiveness of acute psychiatric care (or short-term psychiatric care) owes much to the design of the physical space inhabited by both patients and mental health professionals. The structure of psychiatric care centers and the barriers they either create or remove between patients and healthcare practitioners can potentially influence patient recovery and employee well-being. Some argue that private, physically exclusionary spaces designed specifically for nurses are necessary in order to protect sensitive information and provide psychological solace for the nurses themselves.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014