Healthcare Design - August 2017 - 60

AIA-AAH

The study "The Decentralized Station: More Than Just Patient Visibility," by Christina Grimes and Louis
A. Meilink Jr., published in 2016 in
the Academy Journal, compared inpatient units
with decentralized and centralized staff stations. The decentralized units scored 13-18 percent higher on certain HCAHPS scores, with
a 91 percent increase in patients feeling cared
for. Additionally, the layout resulted in up to a
71 percent reduction in walking distance for
staff and 16 percent more time for nurses spent
at the bedside. Architects can use this study to
help clients understand the specific benefits of
decentralized staff stations, which can be a controversial concept.

BODY OF EVIDENCE

Seven recent studies represent a growing base of
research available to help healthcare architects
deliver smarter, more effective solutions
By Tom Clark, Byron Edwards, and
Lindsey Stang

The 2014 study "Designing Team
Rooms for Collaboration in the Outpatient Clinics," by Jennifer DuBose,
Lisa Lim, and Ross Westlake, was
funded by an AAH Foundation grant and focused on clinical care team configurations and
how well they support staff effectiveness and efficiency. The findings showed a clear preference
by care staff for providing straight views to clinic
corridors and exam room doors for continuous
visual control, as well as dedicated spaces for
documenting. This is highly relevant to architects' current work, which includes an increase
in outpatient projects.

HE RESEARCH INITIATIVES Committee of the American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture
for Health (AIA-AAH) was formed in 2009 to support research-based architectural practice. At the
time, the committee found that existing research
had a strong focus on patient safety and the patient
experience. However, studies in other areas that are
THERE'S A NEW
significant to practicing healthcare archiRESEARCH FOCUS
tects-staff effectiveness, planning typologies,
ON TOPICS TIED TO
return on investment, impact of design on patient health and business outcomes-were in
EFFICIENCY, SAFETY,
short supply.
AND STAFF AND PATIENT
Over the years, the committee has encouraged research into a range of topics that arSATISFACTION.
chitects could use to inform their work. We
recently looked at how healthcare design research has evolved, reviewing new studies published over the last five years from the AIA-AAH's
Academy Journal, the Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) Foundation, Health Environments Research and Design Journal (HERD), and
The Center for Health Design's Knowledge Repository. Reviewing these
notable sources, we found a new focus on topics tied to efficiency, safety,
and staff and patient satisfaction. Here are highlights of what was found
and a few of the latest studies worth checking out.

AUGUST 2017

HCDMAGAZINE.COM

The 2011 study "Optimizing Toilet Location for Assisted Toileting," by Jon
Sanford and Sheila Bosch, was supported by an AAH Foundation grant
and researched optimum toilet configurations
for caregiver-assisted toileting, finding that caregivers preferred space on both sides of the toilet,
with folding grab bars. This result has implications for reducing staff injuries and frustration.

Another AAH Foundation grant
study, "Mental and Behavioral
Health Environments: Critical Considerations for Facility Design," by
Mardelle Shepley, Angela Watson, Francis Pitts,
Anne Garrity, Elizabeth Spelman, Janhawi
Kelkar, and Andrea Fronsman, reviewed physical environment features that positively affect
psychiatric patients and staff in terms of social
interaction and safety. The findings showed a
staff preference for less institutional settings,
open nurses' stations, and access to nature. Designers of behavioral health facilities often face
conflicting dictates regarding therapeutic en-

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Healthcare Design - August 2017

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