The architecture of safety: hospital design
Issue Date
2007-12-01Author
Joseph, Anjali
Rashid, Mahbub
Publisher
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Purpose of review: This paper reviews recent research literature reporting the effects of hospital design on patient safety. Recent findings: Features of hospital design that are linked to patient safety in the literature include noise, air quality, lighting conditions, patient room design, unit layout, and several other interior design features. Some of these features act as latent conditions for adverse events, and impact safety outcomes directly and indirectly by impacting staff working conditions. Others act as barriers to adverse events by providing hospital staff with opportunities for preventing accidents before they occur. Summary: Although the evidence linking hospital design to patient safety is growing, much is left to be done in this area of research. Nevertheless, the evidence reported in the literature may already be sufficient to have a positive impact on hospital design.
Description
This is the author's accepted manuscript. The original version can be found at http://journals.lww.com/co-criticalcare/pages/default.aspx.
Collections
Citation
Joseph, Anjali; Rashid, Mahbub. (2007). "The architecture of safety: hospital design." Current Opinion in Critical Care, 13(6):714-719. http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1097/MCC.0b013e3282f1be6e.
Items in KU ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
We want to hear from you! Please share your stories about how Open Access to this item benefits YOU.