Sound Control for Improved Outcomes in Healthcare Settings
2007
The Center for Health Design
Report
Author(s): Joseph, A., Ulrich, R. S.
Added December 2022
The Role of the Physical Environment in the Hospital of the 21st Century: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity
2004
The Center for Health Design
Report
Author(s): Ulrich, R. S., Zimring, C., Quan, X., Joseph, A., Choudhary, R.
Added December 2022
Medication error trends and effects of person-related, environment-related and communication-related factors on medication errors in a paediatric hospital
2019
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 55
Pages 320-326
Author(s): Manias, E., Cranswick, N., Newall, F., Rosenfeld, E., Weiner, C., Williams, A., Wong, I. C. K., Borrott, N., Lai, J., Kinney, S.
Previous studies have found that children receiving care in pediatric facilities can face a high risk of medication errors due to a combination of person-related, communication-related, or environment-related factors. This study further examines how environment-related factors specifically influence medication errors.
Added November 2019
Effects of noise on errors, injuries and subjective health of nursing staff
Author(s): Smith, A.
Added July 2017
The Effect of a Safe Zone on Nurse Distractions, Interruptions, and Medication Administration Errors
2012
Western Journal of Nursing Research
Journal Article
Issue 8
Volume 34
Pages 1068-1069
Author(s): Yoder, M., Schadewald, D.
Added May 2016
Healing environment: A review of the impact of physical environmental factors on users
2012
Building and Environment
Journal Article
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.
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
2013
Anesthesiology
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 119
Pages 1066-1077
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.
Added March 2015
Patient Safety in the Cardiac Operating Room: Human Factors and Teamwork A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
2013
Circulation
Journal Article
Issue 10
Volume 128
Pages 1139-1169
Author(s): Wahr, J. A., Prager, R. L., Abernathy, J. H., Martinez, E. A., Salas, E., Seifert, P. C., Groom, R. C., Spiess, B. D., Searles, B. E., Sundt, T. M., Sanchez, J. A., Shappell, S. A., Culig, M. H., Lazzara, E. H., Fitzgerald, D. C., Thourani, V. H., Eghtesady, P., Ikonomidis, J. S., England, M. R., Sellke, F. W., Nussmeier, N. A.
The cardiac surgical operating room is a complex environment, where patient lives are saved or considerably improved with the help of sophisticated equipment and skilled personnel. Although outcomes are improving, adverse events still occur, many of which are preventable. This statement is the result of a review of literature that presented evidence on patient safety and interventions that worked in enhancing patient safety in the cardiac OR.
Added March 2015
The effects of physical environments in medical wards on medication communication processes affecting patient safety
2014
Health & Place
Journal Article
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.
Added November 2014
Effect of noise on auditory processing in the operating room
2013
Journal of the American College of Surgeons
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 216
Pages 933-8
Author(s): Way, T. J., Long, A., Weihing, J., Ritchie, R., Jones, R., Bush, M., Shinn, J. B.
Noise in operating rooms (ORs), defined as any unwanted sound impeding on normal hearing, can be grouped into two categories: equipment-related noise and staff-created noise. Equipment-related noise can come from anesthesia equipment and alarms, suction devices, or surgical instruments such as cautery devices, dissection tools, and drills. Staff-created noise can come from opening and closing doors, conversations, overhead pages, and music. All of these noise sources contribute to the average ambient noise in ORs, which is 65 dBA with peak levels reaching120 dBA.
Added September 2014
Environmental Issues Related to Medication Errors in Long-Term Care: Lessons From the Literature
2009
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 2
Pages 42-59
Author(s): Mahmood, A., Chaudhury, H., Gaumont, A.
Medication errors contribute significantly to patient illness and mortality and are costly to the healthcare system. This is especially true for elderly patients in long-term care facilities. While the specific definition of medication error often varies from study to study, these errors typically occur when a physician's orders, the manufacturer's guidelines, or professional best practices in drug, dose, route, or timing are not properly followed. They can arise during ordering, dispensing, or administering medication.
Added September 2014
Long-term care physical environments- effect on medication errors
2012
International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 25
Pages 431-441
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.
Added July 2014
Applying human factors in improving medication-use safety
2002
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy
Journal Article
Issue 12
Volume 59
Pages 1155-1159
Author(s): Schneider,PJ.
In this descriptive study the author summarizes the highlights of an interactive conference on human factors (HF) and t applications to improve medication safety. The author describes the various human factors concepts and tools and their applications in reducing human errors, thus improving medication safety.
Added May 2014
The Effect of Environmental Design on Reducing Nursing Errors and Increasing Efficiency in Acute Care Settings: A Review and Analysis of the Literature
2009
Environment and Behavior
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 41
Pages 755-786
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.
Added April 2014
Review of the Literature: Acuity-Adaptable Patient Room
2013
Critical Care Nursing Quarterly
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 36
Pages 251–271
Author(s): Bonuel, N. , Cesario, S.
Acuity-adaptable rooms allow patients to stay in one room from the time they are admitted to when they leave, regardless of their acuity level. These specially equipped private rooms are staffed by nurses who have the skills and training to support the complete range of care for patients with similar conditions or disease processes. The rooms are larger in size than a regular hospital room to accommodate various patients’ needs as their condition changes, such as critical care equipment, additional staff, procedures, and family members.
Added March 2014
Nurses’ Perceptions of How physical Environment Affects Medication Errors in Acute Care Settings
2011
Applied Nursing Research
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 24
Pages 229–237
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.
Added February 2014
Same-Handed and Mirrored Unit Configurations: Is There a Difference in Patient and Nurse Outcomes?
2011
Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 41
Pages 273-279
Author(s): Watkins, N., Kennedy, M., Ducharme, M., Padula, C.
Awareness of the impact of healthcare facility design on a number of diverse patient and staff outcomes is growing. From patient recovery time, satisfaction, and comfort to nursing staff efficiency, error rates, and distraction, varied outcomes are being linked to environmental conditions and design attributes in hospital settings. Inpatient unit configurations, specifically same-handed configurations vs. mirrored units, are a particular area of interest for researchers, with implications for practitioners and patient care. Same-handed configurations, which standardize all rooms within a unit such that they are all identical, may allow for reduced noise as headwalls are no longer shared.
Added February 2014
Medication Dispensing Errors in Community Pharmacies: A Nationwide Study
2002
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
Journal Article
Issue 16
Volume 46
Pages 1448-1451
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.
Added October 2012
Relationships between Ambient Sounds and the Accuracy of Pharmacists' Prescription-Filling Performance
1996
Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 38
Pages 614-622
Author(s): Flynn, E. A., Barker, K. N., Gibson, J. T., Pearson, R. E., Smith, L. A., Berger, B. A.
Errors and error rate have been used as outcome measures of the quality of drug distribution that is a function of the interaction between humans, procedures, equipment, and the work environment. Dispensing errors have been measured by observation and occur at rates of up to 24%. Studies show the relationship between errors and the combination of interruptions and distractions, light levels, and prescription workload, as noise.
Added October 2012
Impact of interruptions and distractions on dispensing errors in an ambulatory care pharmacy
1999
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy
Journal Article
Issue 13
Volume 56
Pages 1319-1325
Author(s): Flynn, E. A., Barker, K. N., Gibson, J. T., Pearson, R. E., Berger, B. A., Smith, L. A.
Errors and error rate have been used as outcome measures of the quality of drug distribution that is a function of the interaction between humans, procedures, equipment, and the work environment. Dispensing errors have been measured by observation and occur at rates of up to 24%. Studies show the relationship between errors and noise, light levels, and prescription workload, as well as the increased number of distractions and errors in an ambulatory care pharmacy.
Added October 2012
