A Systematic Literature Review on Healthcare Facility Evaluation Methods

Abstract

To present a systematic literature review on predesign evaluation (PDE), postoccupancy evaluation (POE), and evidence-based design (EBD); to delimit the concepts and relationships of these terms and place them in the building life cycle framework to guide their application and indicate a common understanding and possible gaps. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses protocol was used. Inclusion criteria cover texts that present a concept, method, procedure, or tool and use the example in healthcare services or other environments. The reports were excluded if there was no evidence of a relationship between the terms, if cited rhetorically, duplicated, or if an instrument was not related to at least one other term. The identification used Scopus and Web of Science and considered reports until December 2021 (search period). When extracting the evidence, formal quality criteria were observed and sentences and other elements were collected as evidence and tabulated to segment topics of interest. The searches identified 799 reports with 494 duplicates. In the selection, 53 records were selected from 305 obtained in 14 searches. The classification extracted concepts, relationships, and frameworks. Results indicate a consistent understanding of POE and EBD and a diffuse understanding of PDE. A summary of the three concepts including two frameworks is proposed. Situations are contextualized where these frameworks are used in specific areas of research. One of these frameworks provides a basis for classifying building assessment methods, procedures, and tools but does not detail the classification criteria. Thus, more detailed adjustments should be considered in specific studies.

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“…The purposes of POE include providing a continuous evaluation of a building's social and behavioral aspects, as well as verifying whether the design's intended principles and guidelines were successfully achieved and whether they were adequate (Pereira & Ornstein, 2023). Li et al (2018) mentioned POE methods that encompass both subjective assessments and physical measurements.…”

“…Hadjri and Crozier (2009) and Joseph et al (2014) agreed that this narrow focus can hinder its effective integration into other research, design, and building procurement processes. Pereira and Ornstein (2023) assert that POE provides insights into the usability of the environment and often includes an evaluation of the building's performance, but it does not inherently present tools for effective intervention in these activities, despite its importance for offering feedback related to facilities and project management. This gap highlights the challenge in translating diagnostic insights and recommendations from POE into actionable changes for facility and project management.…”

“…PDE focuses on providing just-in-time support for design decision-making, considering performance projections, while POE, which starts after construction is completed, occurs late in the process and demands a significant amount of time and cost to yield limited results in terms of improving the evaluated environment (Shin et al, 2017). Pereira and Ornstein (2023) concluded that for a new environment, the 'predicted performance' of a PDE is based on POE recommendations from similar cases, requiring the measured performance to be simulated. By shifting the reference point from 'actual occupation' to 'projected occupation,' assessment instruments can be better defined and guide the selection of the most suitable one for various building life cycle stages.…”