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
Adapting to Family-Centered Hospital Design: Changes in Providers’ Attitudes over a Two-Year Period
2009
Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 3
Pages 79-96
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.
Added January 2016
Achieving EBD Goals Through Flooring Selection & Design
Author(s): Nanda, Upali, Malone, Eileen, Joseph, Anjali
Added April 2013
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
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
A better physical environment in the workplace means higher well-being? A study with healthcare professionals
2013
Psyecology: Revista Bilingüe de Psicología Ambiental / Bilingual Journal of Environmental Psychology
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 4
Pages 89-110
Author(s): Campos-Andrade, C., Hernández-Fernaud, E., Lima, M.-L.
Referring to literature that points to the physical and psychological demands of healthcare work, the authors note that a negative physical environment can add to stress, burnout, and the possibility of error in addition to having repercussions for the health and well-being of the workers. Noise levels, unit configuration, and patient room type (single or multi-bed) are some of the environmental factors that have been studied and found to affect the experience and well-being of nurses.
Added November 2014
Do absorption and realistic distraction influence performance of component task surgical procedure?
2010
Surgical Endoscopy
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 24
Pages 902-907
Author(s): Pluyter, J. R., Buzink, S. N., Rutkowski, A. F., Jakimowicz, J. J.
Surgeons’ ability of focusing their attention on surgical tasks directly impacts their performance on surgical operations, which is an important factor influencing quality of care, work efficiency, patient satisfaction, and many other healthcare outcomes. Attention or concentration is more important for performing minimal invasive surgeries which involve complex technologies and put high physical and cognitive demands on surgeons.
Added November 2012
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
Exploring the Impact of the Physical Environment on Patient Outcomes in Ambulatory Care Settings
2009
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 2
Pages 21-41
Author(s): Gulwadi, G., Joseph, A., Keller, A.
Recent trends in healthcare have seen a shift in treating episodic care within acute care environments to ambulatory care centers (ACCs). These facilities distribute care based upon prevention and wellness to combat chronic disease and provide care management. Ambulatory care environments consist of a broad platform of care settings and deliver many types of care to a wide range of populations. Due to these and other complexities, research linking the impact of the physical design of ACCs on patient health outcomes has yet to be documented.
Added September 2014
Strategies to evaluate the quality of hospital design with clinical data
2023
Journal of Hospital Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 18
Pages 538-543
Author(s): Mead, M., Ibrahim, A. M.
Healthcare design research engages multidisciplinary stakeholders who are often driven by competing agendas. The authors of this article discuss the challenges in evaluating hospital design, describe design features, which are often considered important to clinical care, and recommend strategies to enhance rigor into the evaluation process.
Added November 2022
Altering the NICU and measuring infants' responses
2000
Acta Paediatrica
Journal Article
Issue 5
Volume 89
Pages 577-81
Author(s): Slevin, M., Farrington, N., Duffy, G., Daly, L., Murphy, J.F.
Added October 2012
Servicescape: Physical environment of hospital pharmacies and hospital pharmacists’ work outcomes
2008
Health Care Management Review
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 33
Pages 156-168
Author(s): Lin, B.Y.-J., Leu, W.-J., Breen, G.-M., Lin, W.-H.
Researchers have studied the healthcare work environment from a number of angles, from an organizational behavior perspective honing in on motivation and reward, to an occupational and environmental perspective concerned with comfort and ergonomics, to a pathogenic perspective interested in exposure to disease. The idea of a “servicescape” has arisen in healthcare marketing to investigate the impact of the physical environment of service settings on employees’ psychological states and perceptions.
Added February 2014
Symposium looks into healthy designs
2008
Pebble Project-Published Articles
Journal Article
Issue August 2008
Volume Daily Journal of Commerce
Pages 1
Author(s): Bennett, S.
Added October 2012
The hostile environment of the intensive care unit
2002
Current Opinion in Critical Care
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 8
Pages 316-20
Author(s): Donchin, Y., Seagull, F.J.
Added October 2012
Sleep and Sedation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
2005
Critical Care Nursing Clinics Of North America
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 17
Pages 239-244
Author(s): Carno, M.A., Connolly, H.V.
Added October 2012
Measuring sound in hospital nurseries.
2000
Journal of Perinatology
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 20
Pages S1000-S1104
Author(s): Gray, L., Philbin, M.
Added October 2012
ICU Bedside Environment. A Nursing Perspective
2000
Critical Care Clinics
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 16
Pages 723-34, xi
Author(s): Jastremski, C.A.
Added October 2012
Effect of intensive care environment on family and patient satisfaction: a before–after study
2013
Intensive Care Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 9
Volume 39
Pages 1626-1634
Author(s): Jongerden, I. P., Slooter, A. J., Peelen, L. M., Wessels, H., Ram, C. M., Kesecioglu, J., Schneider, M. M., van Dijk, D.
Intensive care units or ICUs are changing from multi-bed units to single-patient room units. According to the authors, these changes may have an impact on family satisfaction. With the patient often in a critical non-communicative position, it falls on family members to make decisions and evaluate satisfaction.
Added November 2014
Children’s Experience Regarding the Quality of Their Hospital Stay: The Development of an Assessment Questionnaire for Children
2011
Journal of Nursing Care Quality
Journal Article
Issue 4
Volume 26
Pages 364-370
Author(s): Chappuis, M., Vannay-Bouchiche, C.., Fluckiger, M., Monnier, M., Cathieni, F., Terra, R., Piot-Ziegler, C.
Pediatric care quality in Switzerland is evaluated mainly through the parents’ opinion. There are no assessment questionnaires for children. However, research indicates that often, what the parents think does not match their children’s evaluation of the quality of care and that they are often low to moderately correlated. This study examines on the development of a questionnaire assessing the satisfaction of children with their hospital stay.
Added December 2013
Acoustics and psychosocial environment in intensive coronary care
2005
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Journal Article
Issue 3
Volume 62
Pages 1-8
Author(s): Blomkvist, V., Eriksen, C.A., Theorell, T., Ulrich, R., Rasmanis, G.
Research suggests that the physical environment of healthcare facilities influences patient satisfaction, pain, and infection. However, there is less research about how the design of healthcare spaces impacts staff outcomes such as job stress, work demands, fatigue, and quality of patient care.
Added October 2012
