title: Evaluation of critical care space requirements for three frequent and high-risk tasks.
abstract: Spatial requirements for clinical tasks have been recommended from many sources over the past 15 years, but little empiric evidence is offered to support recommendations. This article describes a series of functional space experiments using clinical scenarios to test the spatial requirements for a bed space in a critical care setting. The analysis found that an average of 23.26 m(2) was needed for a bed-to-bed transfer followed by 22.87 m(2) for a resuscitation task. The overall average space requirement for the three tasks for a patient and caregiver zone (ergonomic envelope) was 22.83 m(2), excluding family and hygiene zones and in-room storage.
authors.affiliation: Healthcare Ergonomics and Patient Safety research Unit (HEPSU), Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK. s.m.hignett@lboro.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hignett
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001494:Baths / Q000451:nursing; D003422:Critical Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D004739:England; D006804:Ergonomics / Q000379:methods; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007374:Interior Design and Furnishings / Q000592:standards*; D007587:Job Description; D017770:Lifting; D020380:Needs Assessment; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016272:Occupational Health; D010362:Patients' Rooms / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012151:Resuscitation; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D013996:Time and Motion Studies; D014187:Transportation of Patients; D014743:Videotape Recording