Articles and Publications

Local Identity, Global Perspective: Review of the International Academy’s 6th World Congress and Exhibition

July 1, 2009 / Dochitect / Commentaries & Event Reviews

Event Reviews

Publication: World Health Design
Publication Reference: 2009;2(3):14-17.
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The 6th Design & Health World Congress & Exhibition, which took place in Singapore in 2009, had the goal of spreading knowledge and fostering dialogue between researchers and practitioners in the interdisciplinary field of healthcare design.

The gathering of almost 400 delegates, including architects, designers, health administrators, economists, psychologists, clinicians, nurses, health scientists and government officials from more than 30 countries, to exchange research, design solutions, stimulate discussion for new ideas and find and create business opportunities, demonstrated clearly how healthcare must now be considered within a global context.

Read a review of the 6th Design & Health World Congress & Exhibition here.

Commentaries

Lessons from Evidence-Based Medicine: What Healthcare Designers Can Learn From the Medical Field

June 1, 2009 / Dochitect / Evidence-Based Design

Letter to the Editors

Publication: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Publication Reference: 2009 Summer;2(4):130-1.
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The theory paper by Viets entitled “Lessons from Evidence-Based Medicine: What Healthcare Designers Can Learn From the Medical Field,” advises that the field of medicine, like architecture, has faced many challenges in adopting an evidence-based approach.

Read dochitect’s letter to the editor in response to this article, which comments on the challenges faced in adopting an evidence-based approach, within both the medical and architectural fields.

Letters to the Editor

Critical Care Design – Lessons Learned From 16 Years of SCCM Award Winning Designs

March 1, 2009 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Book Chapter

Book Title: Design for Critical Care: An Evidence-Based Approach
Book Authors: D. Kirk Hamilton, Mardelle McCuskey Shepley
Publisher: Oxford, United Kingdom. Architectural Press of Elsevier, 2009
Chapter Title: Critical Care Design – Lessons Learned From 16 Years of SCCM Award Winning Designs
Chapter Authors: Charles D. Cadenhead, FAIA, FACHA, Diana C. Anderson, MD, MArch, LEED AP, Robert G. Uhlenhake, AIA, ACHA, LEED AP

Except: Beginning in 1992, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), and the American Institute of Architects/Academy of Architecture for Health (AIA/AAH), holds an annual SCCM Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Design Competition.

Each year at the SCCM Congress, awards are presented to the medial director and architect of the chosen winning unit. Each of the sponsoring organizations, composed of physicians, nurses and architects, is represented in judging competition entries, leading to the judging of selections by multi-professional perspectives. Over the history of the design competition, an impressive array of critical care units have been identified, all with varying attributes. The richness of information and best-practice examples that these winning designs offer encouraged a review of best-practices design trends. This analysis presents best-practice trends from the SCCM ICU Design Competition winners between 1992-2009.

Link to Purchase Book:

Design for Critical Care Book Chapter

A View on the Room

February 4, 2009 / Dochitect / Evidence-Based Design

Letter to the Editor

Publication: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Letter to the Editor
Publication Reference: 2009 Feb 4;301(5):486-7.

2009_JAMA COVER In their JAMA commentary entitled “Single-patient rooms for safe patient-centered hospitals”, Drs Detsky and Etchells present an overview of the debate about single-patient rooms, confirming the current status of private rooms as the industry standard for new construction in the United States.

Dochitect responds to the article and comments on patient room types and design, noting that one room size may not fit all.

Letters to the Editor

Critical Care Unit Design, The Winners and Future Trends: An Investigative Study

February 1, 2009 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Publication: World Health Design
Publication Reference: 2009;2(3):72-77.
Authors: Charles D. Cadenhead, FAIA, FACHA; Diana C. Anderson, MD, MArch, LEED AP
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This study compares key trends in the design of the award-winning critical care units over the 17-year history of the annual Society of Critical Care Medicine Intensive Care Unit (ICU) design competition.

Click here for the complete study, including an overview of the identified best-practice critical care design trends.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Icons: Review of Healthcare Design 2008 Conference

January 20, 2009 / Dochitect / Commentaries & Event Reviews

Event Reviews

Publication: World Health Design
Publication Reference: 2009;4(1):10-11.
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The growing interest of multidisciplinary professions in the relationship between design and health was once again demonstrated at the annual Healthcare Design conference, held in 2008 in Washington DC, USA.

More than 3,600 delegates attended to participate in a comprehensive programme of didactic sessions and roundtable discussions. The conference’s aim is to gain new knowledge and understanding of how the design of built environments directly impacts the safety, operation, clinical outcomes and financial success of healthcare facilities now and into the future.

Read a review of the 2008 Healthcare Design event here.

Commentaries

Does One Size Fit All?

October 1, 2008 / Dochitect / Commentaries & Event Reviews

Commentaries

Publication: World Health Design
Publication Reference: 2008;(1)3:20-21.
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Increasingly recognised as an industry standard in the US, in other areas of the world the jury is still out on the 100% single patient room model of care.

In the Canadian system, existing hospital wards contain an assortment of patient room types, including private, shared and the four-person ward room. But As the US moves towards a private room healthcare model for new construction, does ‘one size’ fit all? Before this design guideline becomes the industry standard, we must consider the issue from both a medical and a design perspective. Are private rooms beneficial for all patient populations? Will this design concept alter important psychological and social aspects which accompany the process of illness and healing? How will this change the experience of hospitalization?

Read several expert opinions that consider when, where and for whom single patient rooms are appropriate.

Commentaries

Patient and Family Preferences for the Design of a Palliative Care Unit

April 1, 2008 / Dochitect / Design for Palliative Care

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Publication: World Health Design
Publication Reference: 2008;1(1):62-67.
Author: Diana Anderson, MArch, MD Candidate, Class of 2008, University of Toronto
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The primary purpose of this qualitative study was to identify what palliative care patients and their families perceive to be important elements in the design of a palliative care unit (PCU) for end-of-life care. Secondary objectives included exploring whether differences in preferences and perceptions exist between patients and family members. This study looked at the palliative care population of Bridgepoint Hospital in Toronto, Canada, and evaluated patient and family preferences for room design and layout, as well as preference for private versus shared accommodations.

Click here to view the study which includes patient and family room preferences towards the end of life, in addition to palliative care unit design recommendations.

Additional Press:

Note This study, “Patient and Family Preferences for the Design of a Palliative Care Unit,” was presented at the Design & Health 5^th World Congress and Exhibition: International Academy for Design and Health, Glasgow, Scotland. June 30, 2007.

Conference Presentations, Peer-Reviewed Publications

The Palliative Care Unit: Does Room Design Matter?

April 1, 2008 / Dochitect / Design for Palliative Care

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Publication: University of Toronto Medical Journal
Publication Date: 2007;84(3):183-189.
Author: Diana Anderson, B.Sc., M.Arch.
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Abstract

Objectives: The primary purpose of this needs assessment study, which looked at the palliative care population of Bridgepoint Hospital, Toronto, was to describe what patients and their families perceive to be important elements in the design of a hospital palliative care unit (PCU) for end-of-life care.

Methods: Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted (six patients and six family members), using a set of nine standard questions. The qualitative philosophy of phenomenology was used for data analysis. Themes identified were grouped into two categories: I) External Reality and II) Internal Experience.

Results: In the External Reality category, participants identified eight themes: room size, noise, light, storage, temperature, colour, washrooms, and social spaces. Families identified additional factors: ventilation, furniture and hallways as social spaces. In the Internal Experience category, both groups identified privacy and autonomy. Shared rooms were mentioned in reference to companionship, social interaction, patient compatibility, visitor experiences and observing the dying process. Family members felt that room type should be based on the stage of illness, and expressed a need for spaces that promote participation in care.

Conclusions: Patients and their family members defined key issues related to end-of-life care and the physical environment. The preferences of both patients and their families demonstrate the need for a sensitive design approach to an environment for the terminally ill – one that provides a variety of private and social spaces.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Designed for Discovery: The Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research

July 31, 2007 / Dochitect / Evidence-Based Design

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Publication: Canadian Medical Association Journal
Publication Reference: 2007 Jul 31;177(3):272–273
Authors: Fiona Menzies, MSc; Diana Anderson, MD, MArch
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The Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research created an international buzz in the architectural community after receiving a prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects’ International Award, recognizing high architectural standards and contribution to the local environment. Located at the heart of the medical and health sciences district in the city of Toronto, this 2005 addition to the University of Toronto, was designed by Behnisch, Behnisch and Partner of Stuttgart, Germany, in collaboration with architectsAlliance of Toronto.

This research building sets a standard for the future of research facility design, and perhaps other medical buildings as well, as medical treatments involving multidisciplinary associations become increasingly important, both in research and clinical settings.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

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