Evidence-Based Design in Health Care
Architect Kirk Hamilton has defined evidence-based design as the deliberate attempt to base design decisions on the best available research evidence. Evidence-based health care designs create environments that are therapeutic, supportive of family involvement, efficient for staff performance, and restorative for workers under stress. Evidence-based design is to architecture as evidence-based practice is to medicine. Both are increasingly essential to high-quality care. The following websites offer more information and resources for evidence-based health care facility design.
Center for Health Design
The Center for Health Design is a nonprofit research-and-advocacy organization of health care and design professionals who are leading the effort to improve health quality through architecture and design. The center provides information and technical assistance on evidence-based design.
The Pebble Project
In 2000, the Center for Health Care Design launched the Pebble Project. The purpose of this project "is to create a ripple effect in the healthcare community by providing documented examples of healthcare facilities whose design has made a difference in the quality of care and financial performance of the institution." More than 25 hospitals are now involved in this project. An article, Better Health from Better Design?, in the January 2005 issue of Building Operating Management describes evidence-based design and the Pebble Project.
Healthcare Design
This site offers a quarterly journal for those interested in healthcare design. Many of the articles are available online and are helpful to those interested in integrating patient- and family-centered care principles into design projects. The Elements of Caring, reviews design elements that are particularly important in health care facilities such as views to nature, lighting, and cultural responsiveness. In the article, The Four Levels of Evidence-Based Practice, Kirk Hamilton, provides a framework for understanding how research about the impact of the environment on patients and staff can inform the practice of architects, interior designers, and other design professionals.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation—Designing the 21st Century Hospital
Through a new project called "Designing the 21st Century Hospital," the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is highlighting the importance of evidence-based design and encouraging its use. In June 2004, the RWJF sponsored an invitational meeting on this topic. The proceedings of the meeting are available both as a Webcast and a summary report.
Action Pact, Inc
Action Pact, Inc. is a firm that works with nursing homes and other elder organizations, assisting them in becoming more resident-directed. They promote change in two important ways: (1) encouraging the creation of collaborative organizational structures; and (2) facilitating the development of small, familiar communities which provide more opportunities for elders to care for themselves, make decisions, and have control over their daily lives. They encourage the involvement of residents and their families in all change processes.