Healing Spaces: Elements of Environmental Design That Make an Impact on Health

Abstract

The "ambiance" of a space has an effect on people using the space. In recent years, design for health care environments has begun to include esthetic enhancements in an attempt to reduce stress and anxiety, increase patient satisfaction, and promote health and healing. In this paper, the authors survey the existing research on those elements of the built and natural environment most often asserted by proponents as being inherently healing or promoting health. We postulate a hierarchy of effect of environmental elements ranging from simply nontoxic to safe (both physically and psychologically) to "providing a positive context" to being actively salutogenic. Most relevant research has been concentrated on a limited number of settings and is inadequate to inform the creation of design guidelines for the physical elements of an optimal healing environment. Opportunities exist to make meaningful contributions in this area that are likely to make a significant impact on health outcomes of human beings.

Healing built-environment effects on health outcomes: environment–occupant–health framework

“…Outcome measures in HBE studies are usually categorized according to a specific group of users: patients, family, non-physician staff, physicians and the organization (Huisman et al, 2012;Schweitzer, Gilpin, & Frampton, 2004;Ulrich et al, 2010). The majority of extant empirical studies have focused on patient outcomes.…”

Pre-versus post-occupancy evaluation of daylight quality in hospitals

“…The importance of natural light for healing has been explored in different studies [10]. Exposure to sunlight has a positive effect on patient and staff satisfaction.…”

An Exploration of the Meanings of Space and Place in Acute Psychiatric Care

“…The fact that nursing stations often have locked doors and Plexiglas walls has the clear effect of cutting off patients' access to nurses. Nursing stations in these acute psychiatric units thus demonstrate the "powerful and pervasive" link between hospital design and behavior described by Schweitzer (2004). If a patient wants to speak with or receive care from a nurse who is inside this fortress, the patient must first breach the physical barrier that separates them.…”