Well-being 2013

Conference: Well-being 2013 Conference(Speaker) at Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, Birmingham City University

Dates: 2013

Journal: Paper

Abstract:

The major purpose of design and décor is to meet customer requirements and also to demonstrate designer skill. Design and décor in a healthcare setting should primarily be aimed at pleasing hospital room users. Addressing a hospital room user’s needs to his or her satisfaction with healthcare facilities is only possible if these requirements are clearly documented and known. General public design and décor preferences are not clearly documented in healthcare settings, therefore design and décor professionals use their intuition to project these requirements.

Introduction: Many researchers have outlined their views with regards to healthcare environments and this document critically analyses some of the work. Despite the importance of design and décor in the public well-being, it is the researcher’s considered view that hospital room design and décor is currently an expression of self by designers and not a reflection of people requirements.

Methods: In this study, researcher was engaged with participants in discussing their preferences with regards to preferred single occupancy design through inductive and interpretive approach. The interpretive research approach, which is associated with the philosophy of meaningful interaction between the research, and the researched, was utilized in this research. The approach involves making use of CAD (Computer Aided Design) software, which helps respondents to accurately map their preferences, in order to arrive at understanding and interpretation of how people create and maintain their social worlds.

The researcher posted notices with the inclusion criteria on the notice boards around the Tripoli University and Medical Centre requesting participants to volunteer to participate in the research. The selected participants who met the inclusion criteria participated in a consultation sessions. During the consultation sessions, the researcher made use of CAD software to help respondents to accurately map their preferences. CAD software helps general public to visualize how the hospital room will look and feel like based on 3D computer images.

Results: All participants were over the ages of 18 years and none of them was still under treatment or admitted to the hospital. These participants were from several areas, such as students, university staff, and one security guard who works for Tripoli Hospital. The data was analyzed using a content analysis and other methods. A thematic analysis process was conducted. The findings of this study reveal that four major domains are involved in determining the participant’s preferred hospital room design. The major domains are the environmental aesthetics, personalization, technology, mobility and flexibility.

The researcher’s own developed a framework is discussed based on the research finding of single occupancy research which fills the knowledge gap in Bitner’s theoretical framework. It is instructed according to the researcher own developed framework which addresses the environmental behaviors- user relationships in healthcare design, the discussing addresses the interior conditions and technology condition which considered as new knowledge that fill the gap in Bitner’s (1992) theoretical framework.

Conclusion: Sets of recommendations were build, based on new developed research theory and finding, which can guide healthcare designers in creating single occupancy room designs. The guideline are made of both written recommendations and visual image of single occupancy interior design.

The basic design principles were incorporated into this study recommendation. Those are proportion, scale, harmony, rhythm variety, contrast, and balance. A three –dimensional design of single occupancy was created, which guided by the finding of this research. Participant’s preferences are incorporated along with the findings into set of recommendations for interior designer to use for the future design of hospital room.

Source: Manual

Preferred by: Moamer Gashoot