Bricks and Morals —Hospital Buildings, Do No Harm

AbstractThe volume and rigor of evidence-based design have increasingly grown over the last three decades since the field ’s inception, supporting research-based designs to improve patient outcomes. This movement of using evidence from engineering and the hard sciences is not necessarily new, but design-based health research launched with the demonstration that post-operative patients with window views towards nature versus a brick wall yielded shorter lengths of hospital stay and less analgesia use, promoting subsequent investigations and guideline development. Architects continue to base healthcare design decisions on credible research, with a recent shift in physician involvement in the design process by int roducing clinicians to design-thinking methodologies. In parallel, architects are becoming familiar with research-based practice, allowing for further rigor and clinical partnership. This cross-pollination of fields could benefit from further discussion surrounding the ethics of hospital architectur e as applied to current building codes and guidelines. Historical precedents where the building was used as a form of treatment can inform future concepts of ethical design practice when applied to current population health challenges, such as design for dementia care. While architecture itself does not necessarily provide a cure, good design can act as a preventative tool and enhance overall quality of care.

Source: Journal of General Internal Medicine - October 25, 2018 Category: Internal Medicine Source Type: research