Executive forum: design for therapeutic outcomes.
In summary, the two major characteristics of design for therapeutic outcomes are: 1) that it takes into account the functional requirements of patients as these are influenced by illness or disability and 2) that it supports processes of care and treatment aimed at specific desired outcomes. The challenge is a large one and requires a multi-disciplinary effort. Nurses and physicians should be included on design teams, whether in the planning of new facilities, or the redesign of older ones. Physicians will be able to articulate the treatment goals, as will experienced nurses who, in addition, have a handle on the day-to-day activities that can be more effectively carried out by or for patients with the support of good design. In the endeavor to design for therapeutic outcomes, nurses and physicians must be part of the design team, but we should not expect all of them to have the same understanding of the built environment as a design professional has. Rather, their input is an essential complement to the design professional's skills and of critical importance in articulating the requisities of specific patient groups. Because of cost considerations and because there are many users within the hospital, there will of necessity be some trade-offs, but concentration on what the therapeutic outcomes should be for different groups of patients will go a long way toward achieving truly functional designs.
Williams
M A
MA
School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000523:psychology; D006272:Health Facility Environment / Q000266:history; D006676:History of Nursing; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006749:Hospital Design and Construction / Q000266:history / Q000592:standards*; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000266:history; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D013808:Therapeutic Community; D016896:Treatment Outcome