Healing Architecture in Healthcare: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this scoping review is to identify evidence on how characteristics of healing architecture in clinical contexts impact clinical practice and patient experiences. Based on these insights, we advance a more practice-based approach to the study of how healing architectures work. Background: The notion of “healing architecture” has recently emerged in discussions of the spatial organization of healthcare settings, particularly in the Nordic countries. This scoping review summarizes findings from seven articles which specifically describe how patients and staff experience characteristics of healing architecture. Methods: This scoping review was conducted using the framework developed by Arksey and O’Malley. We referred to the decision tool developed by Pollock et al. to confirm that this approach was the most appropriate evidence synthesis type to identify characteristics related to healing architecture and practice. To ensure the rigor of this review, we referred to the methodological guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews. Results: There are two main findings of the review. First, there is no common or operative definition of healing architecture used in the selected articles. Secondly, there is limited knowledge of how healing architecture shapes clinical and patient outcomes. Conclusions: We conclude that further research is needed into how healing architectures make a difference in everyday clinical practices, both to better inform the development of evidence-based designs in the future and to further elaborate criteria to guide postoccupancy evaluations of purpose-built sites.

Do improved structural surroundings reduce restrictive practices in psychiatry?

“…As several reviews have highlighted the relationship between the structural environment and health outcomes [ 6 , 13 , 55 ], clinicians need to be mindful of the effect of their physical surroundings in this vulnerable patient group [ 56 ]. Leaders need to be conscious of the impact of design decisions on treatment, therapeutic safety and security, and patient autonomy.…”

“…This retrospective study aims to answer a narrow question and does not consider other possible impacts, nor does it consider how the new hospital interacted with the context in which it was implemented. To fully evaluate and understand the effects of a hospital relocation, we need to develop a theoretical framework, evidence-based indicators and methods [ 55 ].…”

Evaluating Therapeutic Healthcare Environmental Criteria: Architectural Designers’ Perspectives

“…An extensive body of research reports a strong association between physical healthcare environmental quality and hospital users’ health benefits and well-being [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Scholars have investigated the elements and attributes of the hospital physical setting and their physiological and psycho-social impacts on building occupants, which contribute to the therapeutic effects of hospital environments [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. The essential physical and psycho-social features of hospitals are studied in relationship to various hospital inhabitants’ objective and perceptive health outcomes.…”

Sacred Space: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-synthesis of Women’s Experiences of Supportive Birthing Environments

“…Given that thoughtfully designed healthcare facilities can influence the amount of privacy and control a patient perceives [9], the built environment plays an integral part in healing. Ample daylight, 4 SACRED SPACE 4 thermal comfort, color, and noise control all contribute to environmental healing within a hospital [10]. Furthermore, patient health outcomes have been linked to the built environment of hospitals in multiple studies [11] [12].…”