Environmental Design for Hospitals

Environmental aspects of effective hospital design include sights, sounds, smells, taste and tactile experiences. For this article I have focused on research pertaining to sights--the visual aspects of environmental design.

Positive Distractions

Research has shown that certain elements added to an environment can reduce stress. These elements are referred to as positive distractions. [3] They include things like music, comic entertainment and companion animals. Three visual forms of positive distraction are gardens, scenic views and artwork. Positive distractions play an integral role in modern hospital environmental design.

Nature as a Positive Distraction

Investigations measuring the effects of exposure to natural scenes such as wooded areas or gardens have gone well beyond hospital situations. Clinical studies have repeatedly shown remarkable results for subjects viewing natural scenes, both real and in works of art. One finding is that many of the positive effects occur within minutes of contact with nature. [3] With exposure to nature negative emotions including fear and anger are diminished, while feelings of well-being are enhanced. Physiologically, viewing natural scenes has been shown to lower stress induced levels of high blood pressure and heart activity.

In one hospital study, patients recovering from abdominal surgery with a bedside window view of nature (specifically trees) recovered faster, reported better emotional well-being and required less pain medication then if their window view was a brick wall. [3] In hospital settings where gardens and pleasant natural views were not feasible, patients have been found to respond well to television videos of natural scenery with sounds of birds and babbling brooks.