title: Design in mind: eliciting service user and frontline staff perspectives on psychiatric ward design through participatory methods.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Psychiatric ward design may make an important contribution to patient outcomes and well-being. However, research is hampered by an inability to assess its effects robustly. This paper reports on a study which deployed innovative methods to capture service user and staff perceptions of ward design.
  
  
  METHODS
  User generated measures of the impact of ward design were developed and tested on four acute adult wards using participatory methodology. Additionally, inpatients took photographs to illustrate their experience of the space in two wards. Data were compared across wards.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Satisfactory reliability indices emerged based on both service user and staff responses. Black and minority ethnic (BME) service users and those with a psychosis spectrum diagnosis have more positive views of the ward layout and fixtures. Staff members have more positive views than service users, while priorities of staff and service users differ. Inpatient photographs prioritise hygiene, privacy and control and address symbolic aspects of the ward environment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Participatory and visual methodologies can provide robust tools for an evaluation of the impact of psychiatric ward design on users.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology .
authors.forename: Emese
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Csipke
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology .
authors.forename: Constantina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Papoulias
authors.affiliation: b Department of Biostatistics .
authors.forename: Silia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vitoratou
authors.affiliation: c Health Services and Population Research , and.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: d Service User Research Enterprise, Institute of Psychiatry , Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology .|d Service User Research Enterprise, Institute of Psychiatry , Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Til
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wykes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006749:Hospital Design and Construction; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D010358:Patient Participation; D011566:Psychiatric Aides; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: Inpatient services; participatory methodology; psychiatric ward design; service user involvement; service-user perceptions