Evidence-Based Design in Healthcare Facility Planning This Letter to Stakeholders aims to help the recipients appreciate the importance of evidence-based design in the planning of Healthcare Facilities.

Dear Sir / Madam

I feel happy to share with you the letter that explains about the upcoming healthcare renovation project. There are a lot of disruptive changes happening in the healthcare landscape and the application of evidence-based design (EBD) is prominent among them. It is essential that we understand the features of the model before taking a final decision. I have put my perspective on why adopting the EBD model for our renovation project is important.

History of Healthcare Facility Design

The original idea that Florence Nightingale had of a hospital was a place that would have abundant fresh air, view of nature and light. This idea sought to substitute deep plan hospitals that rose after World War II which were more concerned about efficiency than the healing of the patients and their comfort. The form of the hospital changed from the style of a pavilion to a totally different style. A configuration of an average hospital turned to a multi-floor block (or platform) that had the patient tower on top of it. This transformation was made possible by building technology that brought the ability to build long span buildings, ventilate the interior spaces through mechanical means, and introduction of elevators to move people between floors. According to estimates, nurses spent 40% of their time in transporting patients when this topology was at its peak (Burpee, 2008).

Current Approaches

Hospitals and Clinics in Canada and many countries in Europe do not offer private rooms to patients. The contrasts between a ward in a hospital and a private room have been described in a rather interesting manner on the website of The British National Health Services (NHS). Evidence shows many patients would prefer a private room. However, this is quite hard unless the patients pay for a private room. There are some obvious advantages of staying in a private room such as privacy, reduced noise, and a lower risk of contracting nosocomial infections. Interestingly, there are some notable disadvantages of a private room for a patient (Gormley, 2010). They include:

• The patient...

Plausibly, Evidence-based design arises from this realization. According to the founding principal of Houston's Watkins Hamilton Ross Architects, D. Kirk Hamilton, also an associate professor at the Center for Health Systems and Design in Texas A&M University, a well-designed environment is an important constituent of the patient care system. There is an increasing number of designers, facility executives and architects who are diligently analyzing how the facilities influence the outcome of patients under the concept of evidence-based design. Hamilton states that Evidence-based design is the result of an architect who is thinking critically, working closely with well-informed clients. Such an approach uses concrete evidence from studies to make interpretations on design.
Currently, experts are concentrating on the studies on the effects of the nature of facilities. These include issues such as the location of bathrooms and sinks, decor, as well as overhead pages. Statistical data, such as the rate at which patients acquire illnesses while they are admitted in hospitals, or the number of errors associated with medication, and the duration of patients stay in hospital are used to measure the effects. If these measures are improved, there will be an overall enhancement in the well-being of patients (Kroll, 2005).

Although "evidence-based design" equates with formal research generally, there are many other ways in which "evidence" occurs. These ways include in-house institutional research, professional experience, best practice, and informal benchmarking. The information acquired through the different means is then sieved by different people in different ways. These people are entrusted with the processes of planning, managing, funding, designing, and even those who use the facility: they include the planners, architects, management, government organizations responsible for…