Healing environments
Encyclopedia
Healing environment, for healthcare buildings describes a physical setting and organizational culture
that supports patient
s and families through the stresses
imposed by illness, hospitalization, medical visits, the process of healing, and sometimes, bereavement.
The philosophy that guides this concept is rooted in research in the neuroscience
s, environmental psychology
, psychoneuroimmunology
, and evolutionary biology. The common thread linking these bodies of research is the physiological effects of stress on the individual and the ability to heal. Psychologically supportive environments enable patients and families to cope with and transcend illness.
There is considerable confusion about what constitutes a healing environment. Some refer to what we have come to know as "hospitality healthcare design" of the 1980s as healing environments. While some hotel
s have a high level of design
and drama which may be aesthetically appealing, they generally lack those qualities that one would consider to be restorative or conducive to physical, emotional, and spiritual healing
.
The goal of all healing environments is to engage patients in the conscious process of self-healing
and spiritual growth. Spaces are designed to be nurturing and therapeutic and, most important, to reduce stress. This is a research-based approach to design, aimed at eliminating environmental stressors and putting patients in contact with nature in the treatment setting.
Bringing Home to the Hospital
The most important thing for inpatients at hospitals is the comfort and normalcy of having family members and friends that visit and spend time with them. With advances in healthcare most patients are treated in an outpatient setting, where they come in have a procedure or test run and then go back to their homes. Today’s inpatients are more likely to have a serious condition and be there for a period of at least several days and sometimes even months. This explains the growing trend of creating healthcare environments that make not only the patient, but also their loved ones feel like they can relax and maybe even forget that they’re at the hospital. It is proven that if someone feels comfortable and relaxed, they can rest easier and heal faster.
The Importance of Lighting
Eighty percent of what we interpret of our surroundings comes to us from what we see of our environment and that is greatly affected by the light available in that environment. Lighting design in healthcare environments is a major factor in creating healing situations. Since the design of healthcare environments is said to influence patient’s outcomes, yet high costs prevent most hospitals from renovating or rebuilding, changes in lighting becomes a cost effective way to improve existing environments. It is proven that people who are surrounded by natural light are more productive and live healthier lives. When patients are sick, and surrounded by medical equipment and white walls, the last thing they need is a dark, stuffy room. This is why it is important for every room to have a window for natural light to come into and help create a healing environment for the patient.
Organizational culture
Organizational culture is defined as “A pattern of shared basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration" that have worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to...
that supports patient
Patient
A patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....
s and families through the stresses
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
imposed by illness, hospitalization, medical visits, the process of healing, and sometimes, bereavement.
The philosophy that guides this concept is rooted in research in the neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
s, environmental psychology
Environmental psychology
Environmental psychology is an interdisciplinary field focused on the interplay between humans and their surroundings. The field defines the term environment broadly, encompassing natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments, and informational environments...
, psychoneuroimmunology
Psychoneuroimmunology
Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body...
, and evolutionary biology. The common thread linking these bodies of research is the physiological effects of stress on the individual and the ability to heal. Psychologically supportive environments enable patients and families to cope with and transcend illness.
There is considerable confusion about what constitutes a healing environment. Some refer to what we have come to know as "hospitality healthcare design" of the 1980s as healing environments. While some hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s have a high level of design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
and drama which may be aesthetically appealing, they generally lack those qualities that one would consider to be restorative or conducive to physical, emotional, and spiritual healing
Faith healing
Faith healing is healing through spiritual means. The healing of a person is brought about by religious faith through prayer and/or rituals that, according to adherents, stimulate a divine presence and power toward correcting disease and disability. Belief in divine intervention in illness or...
.
The goal of all healing environments is to engage patients in the conscious process of self-healing
Self-healing
Self-healing is a phrase applied to the process of recovery , motivated by and directed by the patient, guided often only by instinct. Such a process encounters mixed fortunes due to its amateur nature, although self-motivation is a major asset...
and spiritual growth. Spaces are designed to be nurturing and therapeutic and, most important, to reduce stress. This is a research-based approach to design, aimed at eliminating environmental stressors and putting patients in contact with nature in the treatment setting.
Bringing Home to the Hospital
The most important thing for inpatients at hospitals is the comfort and normalcy of having family members and friends that visit and spend time with them. With advances in healthcare most patients are treated in an outpatient setting, where they come in have a procedure or test run and then go back to their homes. Today’s inpatients are more likely to have a serious condition and be there for a period of at least several days and sometimes even months. This explains the growing trend of creating healthcare environments that make not only the patient, but also their loved ones feel like they can relax and maybe even forget that they’re at the hospital. It is proven that if someone feels comfortable and relaxed, they can rest easier and heal faster.
The Importance of Lighting
Eighty percent of what we interpret of our surroundings comes to us from what we see of our environment and that is greatly affected by the light available in that environment. Lighting design in healthcare environments is a major factor in creating healing situations. Since the design of healthcare environments is said to influence patient’s outcomes, yet high costs prevent most hospitals from renovating or rebuilding, changes in lighting becomes a cost effective way to improve existing environments. It is proven that people who are surrounded by natural light are more productive and live healthier lives. When patients are sick, and surrounded by medical equipment and white walls, the last thing they need is a dark, stuffy room. This is why it is important for every room to have a window for natural light to come into and help create a healing environment for the patient.
External links
- The Center for Health Design, Nonprofit research and advocacy organization that promotes the use of evidence-based designEvidence-based designEvidence-based design often shortened to EBD is a field of study that emphasizes the importance of using credible data in order to influence the design process. The approach has become popular in Healthcare Architecture in an effort to improve patient and staff well-being, patient healing...
to create healing environments.
- Healing Environments, Nonprofit dedicated to the mission of creating healing environments to comfort the suffering.