Evidence-Based Design in Hospital Renovation Projects: Design Implementation for Patient Privacy and Comfort

Abstract

Evidence-Based Design (EBD) principles are researched and published widely throughout the design, engineering, and construction industry. However, few studies show the extent of the implementation of the principles on actual projects. This paper documents the implementation of EBD elements relating to patient privacy and comfort in hospital renovation projects. The goal of Evidence-Based Design is to make design and construction decisions based on the best possible outcome for the user of a given space. In healthcare, this outcome may be critical to the health, comfort, privacy, and overall well-being of hospital patients and staff. This paper compiles the list of design recommendations relating to privacy and comfort. These recommendations come from a review of existing EBD literature. To assess the implementation of these elements into actual projects, construction documents from 30 recent healthcare facility renovation projects across the United States were obtained and analyzed. This paper provides results for the levels of implantation in the EBD categories of privacy and comfort. EBD elements related to privacy and comfort are shown to have a high level of adoption into actual projects. This may demonstrate the effectiveness of EBD in influencing design decisions. The report does show that there are still areas of potential improvement. Suggestions are given to improve building design, codes, standards, and guidelines. The information found in this study will be helpful to owners, building contractors, and design professionals by providing insight into how well the industry is recognizing and implementing the known best practices of EBD. These findings likewise introduce new opportunities for further research which could lead to additional improvements in healthcare facilities of the future.