Include 2011 : The role of inclusive design in making social innovation happen.

Include is the biennial conference held at the RCA and hosted by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. The event is directed by Jo-Anne Bichard and attracts an international delegation

DESIGN CORRELATES OF PATIENTS' TRAVEL EXPERIENCE AND SATISFACTION IN THE HOSPITALS OF BANGLADESH

Understanding patients' experience is important for designing patient centered healthcare environments. Patients get their first impressions of the healthcare experience from the environment, which may affect their healthcare expectations even before receiving any services. Studies on patients' satisfaction have shown that the physical environment of hospitals can directly or indirectly affect patients' experience and the perceived quality of care. Very few of these studies, however, show how environmental variables affect patients' experience and satisfaction in wayfinding situations in hospitals. Even fewer studies look at this issue in the hospitals of developing countries, where the quality of care is a big concern. Therefore, this study focuses on patients' experience in wayfinding situations in the hospitals of Bangladesh. The study uses data collected from 349 male and female patients in the outpatient departments of six regional hospitals of Bangladesh. The data include 180 hours of field observation of wayfinding behaviors over a period of six weeks, patients' interviews using a pre-coded questionnaire, and the floor layout analysis that included the measurement of actual route distance, travel distance, and spatial network distances. The findings of the study suggest that patients' travel experiences may depend on patients' interpretations of a situation based on psychological processes, social factors and the environmental variables of the settings. Among the environmental variables that seem to have affected patients' experience and satisfaction more in the outpatient departments of Bangladeshi hospitals are included the identification and directional signage elements, the location of information desks, and the proximity of necessary functions. These findings should help hospital designers and administrators make hospitals more patient-friendly in Bangladesh and elsewhere

The Covert Life of Hospital Architecture

The Covert Life of Hospital Architecture addresses hospital architecture as a set of interlocked, overlapping spatial and social conditions. It identifies ways that planned-for and latent functions of hospital spaces work jointly to produce desired outcomes such as greater patient safety, increased scope for care provider communication and more intelligible corridors. By advancing space syntax theory and methods, the volume brings together emerging research on hospital environments. Opening with a description of hospital architecture that emphasizes everyday relations, the sequence of chapters takes an unusually comprehensive view that pairs spaces and occupants in hospitals: the patient room and its intervisibility with adjacent spaces, care teams and on-ward support for their work and the intelligibility of public circulation spaces for visitors. The final chapter moves outside the hospital to describe the current healthcare crisis of the global pandemic as it reveals how healthcare institutions must evolve to be adaptable in entirely new ways. Reflective essays by practicing designers follow each chapter, bringing perspectives from professional practice into the discussion. The Covert Life of Hospital Architecture makes the case that latent dimensions of space as experienced have a surprisingly strong link to measurable outcomes, providing new insights into how to better design hospitals through principles that have been tested empirically. It will become a reference for healthcare planners, designers, architects and administrators, as well as for readers from sociology, psychology and other areas of the social sciences

The Covert Life of Hospital Architecture

The Covert Life of Hospital Architecture addresses hospital architecture as a set of interlocked, overlapping spatial and social conditions. It identifies ways that planned-for and latent functions of hospital spaces work jointly to produce desired outcomes such as greater patient safety, increased scope for care provider communication and more intelligible corridors. By advancing space syntax theory and methods, the volume brings together emerging research on hospital environments. Opening with a description of hospital architecture that emphasizes everyday relations, the sequence of chapters takes an unusually comprehensive view that pairs spaces and occupants in hospitals: the patient room and its intervisibility with adjacent spaces, care teams and on-ward support for, and the intelligibility of public circulation spaces for visitors. The final chapter moves outside the hospital to describe the current healthcare crisis of the global pandemic as it reveals how healthcare institutions must evolve to be adaptable in entirely new ways. Reflective essays by practicing designers follow each chapter, bringing perspectives from professional practice into the discussion. The Covert Life of Hospital Architecture makes the case that latent dimensions of space as experienced have a surprisingly strong link to measurable outcomes, providing new insights into how to better design hospitals through principles that have been tested empirically. It will become a reference for healthcare planners, designers, architects and administrators, as well as for readers from sociology, psychology and other areas of the social sciences

Evidence-based design utilized in hospital architecture and changing the design process: a hospital case study

As a new paradigm in healthcare design in the 21st century, evidence-based design (EBD) has played a critical role in the changing hospital architectural design process and shaping new images of hospital architecture. Evidence-based design is research informed, and its results affect not only patients' clinical outcomes but also medical facility operational efficiency and its staff retention and satisfaction. This research investigated how EBD was implemented in hospital architectural design and how traditional design process was modified to incorporate credible research evidence through a case study at Grand River Hospital in the United States. This study took a qualitative approach with grounded theory methodology. The methods used for this research were multiple sources of data collection through document reviews, observations, and interviews. Findings revealed that the investigation for EBD needs to focus on environment-behavior studies especially in the development of explanatory theory. This study also recommended a modified cyclical design process model for integrating EBD. This redefined design process model requires collaborations with all stakeholders by adding visioning sessions, multiple design charrettes, mock-ups, and the functional performance evaluation to help to implement research evidence and make design decisions to achieve the best possible outcomes

Information and communication technology solutions for outdoor navigation in dementia

INTRODUCTION: Information and communication technology (ICT) is potentially mature enough to empower outdoor and social activities in dementia. However, actual ICT-based devices have limited functionality and impact, mainly limited to safety. What is an ideal operational framework to enhance this field to support outdoor and social activities? METHODS: Review of literature and cross-disciplinary expert discussion. RESULTS: A situation-aware ICT requires a flexible fine-tuning by stakeholders of system usability and complexity of function, and of user safety and autonomy. It should operate by artificial intelligence/machine learning and should reflect harmonized stakeholder values, social context, and user residual cognitive functions. ICT services should be proposed at the prodromal stage of dementia and should be carefully validated within the life space of users in terms of quality of life, social activities, and costs. DISCUSSION: The operational framework has the potential to produce ICT and services with high clinical impact but requires substantial investment

The Development of a Wayfinding Smart Phone Application as a Large Healthcare Facility Investment Opportunity

Health care is a continually growing field. New hospitals are constantly being built, while older facilities are experiencing renovation and expansion. With this growth comes a set of difficulties for patients as they try to navigate through large, multi-building facilities. Most large facilities have multiple parking garages, numerous buildings, and medical towers with an unending number of floors. Patients are forced to rely on directional signage to find their destination that is often insufficient. Attempting to navigate through large facilities is often overwhelming for visitors leading to frustration and stress. New technology has allowed a convenient solution to this problem using visitors’ personal smart phones. NaviHealth is a wayfinding smart phone application that has been created to safely assist visitors in navigating though healthcare facilities. The application gives step-by-step, real-time navigation through parking areas, buildings, floors, and even to the facility itself. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project is to develop a wayfinding smart phone application, NaviHealth, for a large healthcare facility to decrease visitor stress and hospital costs, while improving patient satisfaction. The application was presented to a large healthcare organization in South Mississippi as an investment opportunity. Participants of the project were six employees of the organization’s marketing department. After a presentation discussing NaviHealth, participants completed a Likert-type evaluation tool to assess the organization’s interest in the investment and implementation of the application. Open-ended questions were also competed, and qualitative data was collected. Results of this project determined that although the application showed many positive benefits for the facility, the willingness to further pursue the application for investment was strong but not overwhelmingly unanimous. Changes to the application were recommended by participants to improve the likelihood of application investment

Revealing attributes of supportive healing environments in interior design: staff perceptions in healthcare design

2013 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.People seeking healthcare anticipate an environment supportive of healing and wellness in acute and ambulatory facilities. Such environments synthesize psychological, social, and physical components shown to effect perceptions of healing (McCullough, 2010). "Well-designed physical environments... foster wellness, whereas poorly designed environments... make people frustrated and thereby contribute to the possibility of illness" (Dilani, 2001, p. 34). Wellness factors need to be clearly identified in designing healthcare facilities, becoming an integral part of the therapeutic process (Dilani, 2001). By observing actual healthcare environments, evidence-informed (Nussbaumer, 2009) design strategies can enlighten stress-free environments by emphasizing strategic opportunities to impact the design of healthy facilities (Ulrich, 2000). The purpose of this research study was to closely examine attributes and factors contributing to a healing environment from the perspective of healthcare staff in a campus ambulatory healthcare setting. The study sought to identify attributes critical to the process of designing healing environments and to examine the presence of a hierarchy of healing attributes to support healthcare designers in their problem-solving and design intentions. Data were collected using an e-survey to the population of healthcare staff, with a response rate of 41% (N = 57). Study findings confirm Dilani (2000) and Ulrich's (1991) theoretical framework but suggest duplicity in the initial conceptual model incorporating these attributes and factors, as derived from their research findings. As a result a revised conceptual model was developed, which needs to be tested in future research

Improving the registration process in a healthcare facility with lean principles

Purpose: Process improvement in service industries, like the registration process in a hospital, can be achieved with the application of lean principles. In this specific case, lean principles were essential to analyze and improve patient satisfaction in a hospital in Montana. The clinics involved in the study included pediatrics (P), internal medicine (IM), and cardiology/pulmonary (CP). The purpose of this study was to address difficulties regarding patient satisfaction on the registration and check-in processes. Design/methodology/approach: Direct observations and patient surveys were initially made to understand the processes and identify the initial causes of dissatisfaction. A value stream map (VSM) was then used to further break down the patient flow’s complexity. A Fishbone diagram and a Concept Map were completed to find the root of the dissatisfaction. Findings: The information obtained from the lean tools showed that patients questioned the need for having a central registration in combination with the check-in process when this combination generates duplications of steps that cause unwanted delays. Several recommendations were explored by the engineering team to mitigate these delays and improve the registration process reducing the number of patients complaints by 40%. Practical implications: This project illustrated the application of lean principles to resolve issues regarding a central registration format in a healthcare facility. Originality/value: A Concept Map was used as a tool to help the organization develop creative and new ways of looking at and solving process deficienciesPeer Reviewe