Humane Design for Hospital Landscapes: A Case Study in Landscape Architecture of a Healing Garden for Nurses

Abstract

The courtyard was designed based on survey results. The final design was reviewed and found to satisfy the preferences of the nursing staff. Currently, the design is being detailed for construction, and a post-occupancy evaluation is being developed to ascertain the quality of the outcome for the nurses.

Neuroscience Application for the Analysis of Cultural Ecosystem Services Related to Stress Relief in Forest

“…Spending time in nature is associated with good health outcomes, in particular when patients undertake activities such as gardening, which are useful for well-being and neuro-rehabilitation [52,53]. Some hospital are now equipped with healing gardens to stimulate the contact of patients with nature [54] and horticultural therapy has been found to be a successful activity to alleviate dementia [55]. Within this context, forests may be important not only for prevention but also for rehabilitation and stress relief.…”

The Influences of Landscape Features on Visitation of Hospital Green Spaces—A Choice Experiment Approach

“…Numerous studies have suggested that visiting and viewing landscaping at hospitals accelerate patients’ recovery from surgery and help staff focus on work [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. This benefit also corresponds with many ancient and historical designs of medical-care environments [ 6 , 7 , 8 ], reflecting that holistic healing depends on collaborations of in- and out-of-building spaces in a hospital complex. Recently, landscaping and gardens at hospitals have increasingly come to be considered as an integral part of a healthcare environment.…”

“…Recently, there has been increased attention placed on research in the planning and design of healing environments [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. A growing number of healthcare professionals acknowledge that outdoor landscapes can assist the psychological and physical recovery of patients [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ], facilitate relaxation and recovery from mental fatigue of caregivers and hospital staff [ 14 , 18 ], and establish good relations with nearby communities by offering local recreation opportunities.…”

Therapeutic Gardens – A healing environment for optimizing the health care experience of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients: A narrative review  

“…Similarly, nursing staff reported a preference for contact with nature and privacy and suggested archetypal landscape features such as thresholds, contemplative paths and garden benches. They likewise proposed symbolic creek and sacred springs that provide restorative spatial experiences [69]. Staff and family members also reported that therapeutic gardens provided three main types of relief activities such as low-level activity (sitting indoors and looking out to the garden); mid-level activity (sitting outdoors and a place to smoke) and high-level activity (picking flowers, planting and physically gardening) [66].…”