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Objectives: The objective of the research was to study the visitors’ experiences of different healthcare environment designs of intensive care unit (ICU) patient rooms. Background: The healthcare environment may seem frightening and overwhelming in times when life-threatening conditions affect a family member or close friend and individuals visit the patient in an ICU. A two-bed patient room was refurbished to enhance the well-being of patients and their families according to the principles of evidence-based design (EBD). No prior research has used the Person-centred Climate Questionnaire—Family version (PCQ-F) or the semantic environment description (SMB) in the ICU setting. Methods: A sample of 99 visitors to critically ill patients admitted to a multidisciplinary ICU completed a questionnaire; 69 visited one of the two control rooms, while 30 visited the intervention room. Results: For the dimension of everydayness in the PCQ-F, a significantly better experience was expressed for the intervention room ( p < .030); the dimension regarding the ward climate general was also perceived as higher in the intervention room ( p < .004). The factors of pleasantness ( p < .019), and complexity ( p < 0.049), showed significant differences favoring the intervention room in the SMB, with borderline significance on the modern factor ( p < .061). Conclusion: Designing and implementing an enriched healthcare environment in the ICU setting increases person-centered care in relation to the patients’ visitors. This could lead to better outcomes for the visitors, for example, decreasing post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, but this needs further investigations.

Medical technology has progressed tremendously over the last few decades, but the same development cannot be seen in the design of these intensive care unit environments. Authors report results of a study of evidence-based room design, emphasizing the impact on conveying a caring attitude to patients. Ten nonparticipant observations were conducted in patient rooms with 2 different designs, followed by interviews. The data were analyzed using a phenomenological-hermeneutical approach. The results did not reveal that it was obvious that redesigned spaces resulted in a more caring attitude. The meanings of caring displayed during nursing activities were interpreted by interpreting gazes. Some of the nursing staff had an instrumental gaze, interpreted as caring with a task-orientated approach, while others communicated their caring with an attentive and attuned gaze, where the needs of the patients regulated the working shift. The study findings indicated that caring may not be perceived when nurses use a task-oriented approach. However, when nurses practice a person-centered approach, using an attentive and attuned gaze, caring is conveyed. Caring in intensive care contexts needs to be assisted by a supportive environment design that cultivates the caring approach.