Healthcare Design - May 2023 - 15

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RESEARCH BRIEF
STUDY: HEALTHCARE
DESIGN RESEARCH
NEEDS COMMON
ORGANIZING STRUCTURE
WHILE INTEREST IN health environments research has grown over the
past decade, comprehending the fi eld can be overwhelming, especially for
those new to it-a fact that inspired a study recently published in Health
Environments Research & Design (HERD) Journal. Authors Dina Battisto,
Xiaowei Li, Jiaying Dong, Luke Hall, and Julia Blouin found that no systematic
study had investigated themes in evidence-based design (EBD)
research regarding the types of research published, people engaged in research,
and the research methods employed. " Understanding the nature of
health environment research performed can help researchers, practitioners,
and students situate their work within an EBD research structure, "
states " Research Methods Used in Evidence-Based Design: An Analysis of
Five Years of Research Articles From the HERD Journal. "
The team worked to identify themes in research methodology by analyzing
research and case study articles published in HERD between 2016
and 2020. The study focused on two primary research questions: (1) What
are the themes in research methodology for studies published in HERD
in 20 issues over five years between 2016 and 2020? and (2) What similarities
and diff erences can be concluded across the articles (e.g., research
methods, design categories, and outcome categories)? The authors state
three " interesting conclusions " were reached.
The fi rst was that " inductive categories identifi ed from an analysis of the
articles provide a snapshot of the research methods used in health environments
research. " Those categories identifi ed could help create a database
structure that would allow for searching articles, framing new studies,
or writing future research studies, authors state. The eff ort also found inconsistent
use of terminology across the article reviews. " For example,
terms like research approach, study design, research strategy, research
design, and research method were used interchangeably with overlapping
meanings, " the study states, with the authors encouraging consensus to be
reached in the fi eld.
The team further identifi ed 934 keywords listed in the articles, leading
them to determine the need for a set of consistent terms to ease the literature
review process, as well as the realization that some terms, such as
" healthcare, design, and research, " are too vague and don't convey specifics
of a study. They suggest the use of key words tied to topic, population
studied, etc. Finally the study also found that design and outcome categories
for coding articles were at times complex and illogically organized. It
recommends presenting environmental settings in a hierarchical order to
help improve clarity.
These are just some of the fi ndings-and suggestions for improvement-
cited in the study. The authors encourage the creation of a common organizing
structure " to facilitate collaborations, assist with framing a study for
publication, summarize strengths and gaps in the research literature, and
identify themes for future research. " The study will be open to Healthcare
Design readers May 1-July 1 by visiting https://tinyurl.com/HERD0523.
-Jennifer Kovacs Silvis, editor-in-chief 
MAY 2023
15
http://coronagroupinc.com https://tinyurl.com/HERD0523
Healthcare Design - May 2023

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