The popularity of the concept of evidence-based design (EBD) has exploded over the past five years, picking up speed as a topic of attention in environmental design conferences, papers and articles, and books. Rooted in the healthcare environment, the EBD concept has now bridged out to design of long-term care settings, housing and workplaces, as well as facilities management. While evidence-based design is indeed a seductive term for those of us interested in advancing research-informed design – portending linkages between research-derived evidence and environmental design – we cautiously note that, as of this writing, in its current conceptualisation, its clout is stronger than its clarity. This paper is a clarion invitation to the environmental design research community to consider the concept of evidence-based design as emergent, warranting careful, critical examination regarding its meaning and underlying assumptions.
Adult day services (ADS) provide care to adults with physical, functional, and/or cognitive limitations in nonresidential, congregate, community-based settings. ADS programs have emerged as a growing and affordable approach within the home and community-based services sector. Although promising, the growth of ADS has been hampered by a lack of uniform outcome measures and data collection protocols. In this article, the authors detail a recent effort by leading researchers and practitioners in ADS to develop a set of uniform outcome measures. Based upon three recent efforts to develop outcome measures, selection criteria were established and an iterative process was conducted to debate the merits of outcome measures across three domains-participant well-being, caregiver well-being, and health care utilization. The authors conclude by proposing a uniform set of outcome measures to (a) standardize data collection, (b) aid in the development of programming, and
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