Culture, Gender, and Medical Waiting Rooms: A Kuwaiti Case Study

Abstract

Although the influence of the built environment in healing and the factors that contribute in creating successful healthcare facilities have been prolific research topics, little has been studied on the subject of how different cultures perceive and navigate these spaces. Through ethnographic observation and online survey, this study explores the way people in a gender‐segregated culture, like Kuwait, occupy the waiting rooms at a public hospital in an urban setting. The findings indicate that people in the gender neutral rooms studied had a tendency to cluster in separate gender zones, adapting their behavior in order to meet cultural, political, and religious norms, and readjusting their spatial environment to achieve privacy and avoid interaction between strangers of the opposite sex. The implications on design include the creation of flexible spaces that would give people options of sitting by themselves, with others of the same sex, or with others of the opposite sex, without being cut off from the rest, and as they find more comfortable. With the globalization of design, professionals need to be attuned to the cultural needs and behavior of those we design for, and this paper tries to contribute in that respect.

Explorations in Time Using SCAS (Socrates as a Service): Reimagining the Doctor’s Waiting Room of 1850 versus 2150 and the Evolution of that Room from 1600

“…There is a relevant academic literature dealing with the history of doctor's offices and their furnishings [7,8]. It is likely, however, that the material being published will interest the experts, whether these experts be those who study the history of interior design [9], or the history of medicine [10]. There is also a developing literature on the additional aspects of the doctor's waiting room, such as design, content, etc., based upon the recognition that the waiting room is not only a place to store people, but also to make their visit 1900 The waiting room of the doctor in 1900 New York is a sight to behold.…”

Waiting Room Physical Environment and Outpatient Experience: The Spatial User Experience Model as Analytical Tool

“…Although design decisions cannot wholly control PR, appropriate spatial layout, furniture arrangement, and seating design can help avoid negative feelings about personal space. For example, Figueroa (2016) suggested that chairs with armrests can improve the feeling of personal space because they mark a physical boundary for the user. In addition, researchers suggested that the waiting room should offer different seating arrangements responding to the patients' preferences, including zones to foster eye contact and communication and others to hinder it (Catania et al, 2011;Figueroa, 2016;Lee, 2011).…”

“…Yet, Danaher and Gallan (2016) suggest that the impact of the physical environment on the patient experience still needs further research. Whereas investigators addressed the environmental effects of healthcare facilities on inpatients (Becker & Douglass, 2008;Figueroa, 2016;Laursen et al, 2014;Ulrich et al, 2008), outpatient services have gained relevance in the healthcare industry (Short et al, 2017), opening new research opportunities.…”

Visitors’ use of corridors in internal medicine wards

“…In health-care facilities, culture, expectations and age are known to play a role in regulation of personal space. For instance, Figueroa (2016) found that in Kuwait, patients gather in gender-segregated groups in hospital waiting rooms. Older women are observed to mark their territory more frequently than men in waiting rooms (Camperio and Malaman, 2002).…”