Pre-occupancy evaluation of patient satisfaction in hospitals

Pre-occupancy evaluation of patient satisfaction in hospitals

van der Zwart, J
van der Voordt, Theo (TU Delft Real Estate Management)

2015

Only when a building has been built it becomes clear if the building works as expected and if the objectives of the clients, customers, end users and other stakeholders are attained. If not, it is difficult and costly to adapt a building-in-use to fit with the needs and interests of the stakeholders. This paper explores how some of the pre-set goals and objectives can be assessed ex ante, in the design phase, before it is built. The paper focuses on six aspects that are perceived as most important to support patient satisfaction: view on nature, way-finding, daylight, visibility of patient areas from reception desks, privacy and communication between medical staff and patients, and noise reduction (Ulrich et al., 2008). An analysis of available assessment tools showed that research by drawing and the use of Space Syntax methods is an adequate means to visualize the strengths and weaknesses of floor plansin relation to spatial user-experience. This approach is illustrated by an assessment of a nursing ward of the Deventer hospital in the Netherlands. This building has been built in the period 2004-2008 and is recognized as a leading hospital regarding hospitality.

hospitals
patient satisfaction
design assessment
space syntax

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:de9f0015-ee1b-45c6-96ff-6a823eb11027

https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586715595506

1937-5867

HERD: Health Environments Research and Design Journal, 9 (1), 110-124

Accepted Author Manuscript

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2015 J van der Zwart, Theo van der Voordt