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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 23

A Recovery-Oriented Care Approach: Weighing the Pros and Cons of a Newly Built Mental Health Facility

Author(s): Ahern, C. C., Bieling, P., McKinnon, M. C., McNeely, H. E., Langstaff, K.
An inpatient mental health hospital was renovated with a newly built environment that incorporated patient-centered, clinically informed designs in an attempt to improve overall safety and quality of care. The new designs were considerably expensive and had extensive design implications for other parts of the hospital outside of the mental health facility.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2016

A Novel PACU Design for Noise Reduction

Author(s): Smykowski, L.
As redesign and renovation of patient care units occur, health care providers need to consider the importance of lowering environmental stressors. Noise in the hospital environment is one well documented problem, with detrimental effects to both patients and staff. The paper reviews the redesign of the organization's PACU that explored a unique floor plan to minimize noise and improve privacy.
Key Point Summary
Added October 2012

Effects of doubled glazed facade on energy consumption, thermal comfort and condensation for a typical office building in Singapore

Author(s): Hien, W. N., Liping, W. , Chandra, A. N. , Pandey, A. R., Xiaolin, W.
Buildings in Singapore use fully glazed-façade systems because of their daylight advantages of low consumption of lighting energy and the aesthetic satisfaction of full external views. High energy consumption, thermal discomfort, and issues with noise control are some of the disadvantages associated with single-glazed façade systems. Double-glazed façade ventilation systems are believed to address these issues.
Key Point Summary
Added October 2012

View Through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery

Author(s): Ulrich, R.S.
Examined records on recovery after cholecystectomy of 46 patients admitted to a suburban hospital between 1972 and 1981 to determine whether assignment to a room with a window view of a natural setting might have restorative influences. Ss were matched in pairs according to sex, age, smoking or nonsmoking status, obese or normal weight status, year of surgery, and floor level (2nd or 3rd). Data...
Key Point Summary
Added October 2012

Ventilation of wards and nosocomial outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome among healthcare workers

Author(s): Jiang, S. P., Huang, L. W., Chen, X. L., Wang, J. F., Wu, W., Yin, S. M., Chen, W., Zhan, J., Yan, L., Ma, L., Li, J., Huang, Z.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus called SARS-associated coronavirus. The disease may cause flu-like symptoms including fever (100.4 F or higher), myalgia, lethargy symptoms, cough, and sore throat. Most patients may develop pneumonia. Environmental contamination is an important factor contributing to SRAS transmission.
Key Point Summary
Added August 2012

Physical environmental stimuli that turn healthcare facilities into healing environments through psychologically mediated effects: systematic review

Author(s): Dijkstra, K., Pieterse, M., Pruyn, A.
Design features of healthcare spaces can be said to impact the health and well-being of patients either directly or indirectly. A direct influence of a design feature means that the impact is not mediated in any way and therefore has a direct effect on patients (e.g., germs sitting in a carpet surface). An indirect influence is one in which the environmental stimuli act through a psychological process of sensory perceptions (e.g., carpet may be perceived as a home environment and may decrease the patient’s stress). This paper is focused on finding research data that had an indirect influence.
Key Point Summary
Added October 2012

Enhancing the traditional hospital design process: a focus on patient safety

Author(s): Reiling, J.G., Knutzen, B.L., Wallen, T.K., McCullough, S. , Miller, R., Chernos, S.
The current study is an overview of innovative system engineering and patient safety factors, named as the Synergy model that a hospital system utilized to design their new facility.
Key Point Summary
Added April 2014

Natural Ventilation for the Prevention of Airborne Contagion

Author(s): Escombe, R.R., Oeser, C.I., Gilman, R.H., Navincopa, M., Martinez, C., Chacaltana, J., Rodriguez, R., Moore, D.J., Friedland, J.S., Evans, C.A.
Controlling the break of nosocomial infections is arguably the highest priority in hospitals. Institutional transmission of airborne infections, such as Tubercolosis (TB) are, additionally, a public health concern. This is particularly true for developing countries, or other resource-limited settings where protective measures such as negative-pressure isolation rooms, which have become the norm in more modern settings, are difficult to implement. The global statistics on TB are staggering at 1.8 million dealths a year.
Key Point Summary
Added October 2012

Perceived hospital environment quality indicators: A study of orthopaedic units

Author(s): Fornara, F., Bonaiuto, M., Bonnes, M.
The field of healthcare design has increasingly recognized the need for building environments that are more ‘‘user-centered,’’ but spatial–physical features have not typically been included in assessment surveys on patient satisfaction.
Key Point Summary
Added July 2014

Energy Efficient Hospital Patient Room Design: Effect of Room Shape on Window-to-Wall Ratio in a Desert Climate

Author(s): Sherif, A., Sabry, H., Arafa, R., Wagby, A.
Windows are significant to the healing process in hospitals because of their ability to provide access to daylight and external views. However, in desert climates windows also contribute to increased hospital energy consumption because of the increased cooling load.
Key Point Summary
Added March 2015

Functional Outcomes of Nursing Home Residents in Relation to Features of the Environment: Validity of the Professional Environmental Assessment Protocol

Author(s): Slaughter, S. E., Morgan, D. G.
Research conducted in different settings shows that specialized environments designed for people with dementia may reduce the rate of functional loss. Different measures have been developed to assess the nursing home environments focused on the features of specialized dementia units. Among them, the Professional Environmental Assessment Protocol (PEAP) was developed to assess the quality of dementia care environments on nine dimensions. Assessment involves subjective evaluation of the physical and social environment on a 5-point scale for each dimension.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2014

Radical Redesign of Nursing Homes: Applying the Green House Concept in Tupelo, Mississippi

Author(s): Rabig, J., Thomas, W., Kane, R. A., Cutler, L. J., McAlilly, S.
The Green House design should be considered as nursing home resident numbers are growing. Early experiences with the “pod-like” structure show positive effects on residents, families, and staff.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2014

Building design and performance: A comparative longitudinal assessment of a children's hospital

Author(s): Thiel, C. L., Needy, K. L., Ries, R., Hupp, D., Bilec, M. M.
The aesthetics and design of a medical treatment facility can influence energy consumption, staff performance, and patient recovery. Evidence-Based Design (EBD) has been cited in many studies as an effective way to improve healthcare outcomes and hospitals’ performance, but further investigation is needed. This is particularly true at a whole-building level, to reveal the relationship between building design and health, and to observe the performance of newer building designs, especially with regard to green healthcare buildings.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014

Comparison of a sample of green hospitals with non-green hospitals with respect to operating expenses and patient revenue

Author(s): Sadatsafavai, H., Walewski, J., Taborn, M.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has been an influential program behind the design, construction, and operation of green healthcare facilities across the U.S. Generally, green hospitals are designed to provide long-term ecological and financial benefits by promoting more efficient use of water, energy, and materials.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2014

Project Coalitions in Healthcare Construction Projects and the Application of Real Options: An Exploratory Survey

Author(s): van Reedt Dortland, M., Dewulf, G., Voordijk, H.
To ensue easy adaptation to the increasingly complex and changing healthcare environment, flexibility in healthcare assets is necessary. However, minimal research has been conducted to gain insight into how health organizations currently integrate flexibility into their real estate projects.
Key Point Summary
Added September 2014

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

Performance Evaluation of 32 LEED Hospitals on Operation Costs

Author(s): Sadatsafavi, H., Shepley, M. M.
As healthcare needs increase, providers strive to reduce operational costs while simultaneously increasing healthcare facility construction and renovation efforts. At the same time, certification programs such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) are examples of the emerging concerns regarding the environmental impact of healthcare facilities. The authors note that the number of studies documenting the benefits of more “green” facilities is limited; however, they hypothesize that upon comparing LEED-certified hospitals with uncertified ones, the LEED facilities will prove to have lower-than-average maintenance costs.
Key Point Summary
Added June 2016

Analysis of circadian stimulus allowed by daylighting in hospital rooms

Author(s): Acosta, I, Leslie, R. P., Figueiro, M. G.
Light is the major synchronizer of circadian rhythms to the 24-hour solar day. Compared to the visual system, the circadian system requires more light to be activated and is more sensitive to short-wavelength light. For those confined indoors, such as patients or residents in care facilities, the lack of access to daylight, or electric lighting providing a comparable amount, spectrum, distribution, duration, and timing, may compromise their human health and well-being.
Key Point Summary
Added November 2016

Different Types of Door-Opening Motions as Contributing Factors to Containment Failures in Hospital Isolation Rooms

Author(s): Tang, J. W., Nicolle, A., Pantelic, J., Klettner, C. A., Su, R., Kalliomaki, P., Saarinen, P., Koskela, H., Reijula, K., Mustakallio, P., Cheong, D. K. W., Sekhar, C., Tham, K. W., Costa, C.
When under negative pressure, hospital isolation rooms are essential for both the containment of patients emitting airborne infectious agents as well as the protection of other patients from these agents. A plethora of different doors are used in the construction of these rooms, but relatively few studies have analyzed how certain door-opening motions and the passage of healthcare workers through these doors can affect the overall performance of isolation rooms.
Key Point Summary
Added December 2016

Comparative Analysis of Hospital Energy Use: Pacific Northwest and Scandinavia

Author(s): Burpee, H., McDade, E.
Today, operational hospitals in the United States consume an enormous amount of energy. This study is an outgrowth of previous research evaluating high-quality, low-energy hos pitals that serve as examples for new high-performance hospital design, construction, and operation.
Key Point Summary
Added May 2015