Thematic Design in HealthCare
The significance of design in our daily lives has shifted dramatically in recent years. The well-designed experience acts as a link between integrated infrastructure and new technical breakthroughs, bridging the two possible gaps in human contact. Design enables us to more efficiently accelerate and integrate new ideas, products, and services. Today’s healthcare industry is confronted with a slew of challenges, as well as new trends and opportunities, which are causing significant shifts in healthcare design from standalone products to comprehensive service plans that include products, communications, experiences, and services on a global scale (Tsekleves & Cooper, 2017).
Rethinking health-care design aids in the provision of technology, social networks, and health-care education to promote patient-centered treatment, which includes self-management (Grisot & Lindroth, 2019). Health care facilities are challenging because they must provide a wide range of services to patients and their families while maintaining a high level of sanitation and infection control. The goal of health care design is to overcome these problems in order to create a positive, but functional environment that promotes recovery and provider satisfaction.
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Design themes are becoming increasingly popular in many health care facilities since they benefit patients’ health while also contributing to the aesthetic and feel of the facilities. Designers have traditionally devoted special attention to acute and long-term care, with new medical items, artificial limbs, hospital, clinic, and home care design (Tosi et al, 2016). The choice of interior finishes and furnishings also has a significant impact on the overall sensation of space.
It is critical that the areas be easily cleaned, but it is also critical that the area feel like a home rather than a center. Themes in health care facilities can be as simple as adopting regionally relevant aspects that will assist clients feel more comfortable while waiting for a doctor.
The design has a significant impact on the space’s efficiency. It is the architect’s responsibility to gather information offered by the client and combine data from past research and projects in order to build an environment that answers to the many needs of patients and their families while also developing evolving professional needs. Patient safety and quality of treatment are dependent on the institution in which they are housed during the most perilous times of their lives.
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Staffing requirements in healthcare facilities are a significant consideration in interior design. One significant reason for focusing on staff requirements is that a happy, well-rested employee is better able to give quality patient care. Using precise architectural strategies such as hand-held rooms, bedside bedding, and appropriate lighting, design options such as hand-held rooms, bedside bedding, and proper lighting can all help to reduce frustration. Although hygiene is critical in the advancement of health care, detecting antibodies and implementing infection control lights is a novel solution to the problem.
Health care workers are often prone to fatigue and stress due to overtime, consecutive work shifts, insomnia, long walks, and lack of rest during breaks. Understanding their needs, and how you can better support them, is an important part of helping effective health care. Well-designed living rooms, kitchens, and sleeping areas can help employees reduce stress, increase productivity, and improve overall job satisfaction.
Structural considerations also play a role in effective health care. Finding nurses’ channels close enough to their patients for immediate care, while minimizing noise transmission is an important design factor creates a better environment for all parties.
When examining how to best design a healthcare interior, current medical design trends have had their focus on the well-being of patients. Previous medical studies indicate that patients’ surroundings, comfort, and degree of happiness have a significant impact on their recovery. As a result, developing a healing design that encourages tranquility and security is an excellent method to help speed up recovery periods and improve the entire experience of the healthcare facility environment.
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Patients and visitors are influenced by interior design from the moment they enter a hospital. These patients and visitor may already be stressed, thus the design of the building should not add to their anxiety. Interior design must take into account high traffic areas such as the waiting room. If the waiting room is small, it may increase anxiety.
Patients and visitors may be concerned about the spread of additional pathogens if they must sit close to others. However, designing these rooms to feel roomy allows people to unwind. Hallways are another high-traffic area where narrow spaces provide a concern in the event of an emergency. With tiny corridors, it’s tough for doctors and nurses to get where they need to go. Hospitals should have wide, open hallways to reduce this safety problem.
Colors in a hospital environment can have a significant impact on how patients perceive and feel about a healthcare facility (Kuang & Zhang, 2017). Clinical interiors have traditionally been linked with a white color palette. However, this is no longer regarded as a friendly tone in hospital settings. To bring tranquillity and navigation into healthcare environments, it is now more popular to utilize multiple tones of the same color or varied accents. This can be an excellent strategy to establish a healing atmosphere for patients while also improving overall outcomes.
Lighting is also an important part of healthcare facility interior design. In hospitals, the use of proper lighting can improve patient health (Rahmanian & Mahmoudi, 2020). A brightly lit hospital may keep individuals working night shifts from getting tired because the light hue impacts them as well. Drowsiness would be caused in hospitals with dim illumination. Blue and green light boosts the release of a hormone that keeps people awake. Melatonin is produced by the body when there is less blue or green light, which occurs most often in the evening.
Signs with clear directions are required to assist patients and visitors in getting to their destinations (Buyruk, 2019). Creating a flawless navigation system throughout a hospital is a massive undertaking. In the event of an emergency, clear directions to exits promotes everyone’s safety. Those who are unfamiliar with the hospital may have difficulty locating the exit. It is far more convenient if there are clear directions to stairwells, elevators, and exits.
Based on the above healthcare themes, interior designers can come up with theme designs to help cater for the needs of all stakeholders in the various health care areas. Popular options include a very basic theme, similar to the most popular Scandinavian designs in the living space. A natural, colorful theme, artwork, plants, and even theme light and sound can bring the Zen atmosphere to a normal chaotic environment.
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In conclusion, in order to improve the quality of life around the world, designers must be key participants in identifying problems and designing solutions to design products and services for health care systems. However, if designers are to play a leading role, there is a need to address designer training on the role of the future in which they can apply the different thematic designs of health challenges and make major decisions that will contribute to behaviors that contribute to long-term prevention and better health.
References
Buyruk, D. (2019). Influence of spatial organization and signage systems on wayfinding in hospitals: The case of TOBB ETU Hospital (Master’s thesis).
Grisot, M., & Lindroth, T. (2019). BOUNDED RECOMBINABILITY OF DIGITAL TECHNOLO-GIES FOR PATIENT-CENTRED CARE.
Kuang, Y., & Zhang, W. (2017, December). The Application of Color in Interior Design. In 4th International Conference on Education, Language, Art and Intercultural Communication (ICELAIC 2017) (pp. 645-647). Atlantis Press.
Rahmanian, S., & Mahmoudi, M. (2020). Study of the Effect of Light and Color on the Medical Interior Design; Case Study: Shahid Rahimi and Shohada-ye Ashayer Hospitals, Khorramabad City, Iran. Armanshahr Architecture & Urban Development, 13(31), 67-78.
Tosi, F., Rinaldi, A., & Ricci, D. B. (2016). Ergonomics and Inclusive Design: Innovative Medical Devices for Home Care. In Advances in Design for Inclusion (pp. 401-412). Springer, Cham.
Tsekleves, E., & Cooper, R. (Eds.). (2017). Design for health. Taylor & Francis.
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