(PDF) The impact of single family room design on patients and caregivers: Executive summary
except the provision of waiting and resting space for families outside the NICU, and corridors
except the provision of waiting and resting space for families
outside the NICU, and corridors and signage for wayfinding.
As these two environmental factors are identical for Hospital 2,
we can assume that the data are inconsequential.
According to staff, single rooms are superior to open bays in
terms of providing privacy to families and infants. This is most
strongly articulated in Hospital 1, which is limited to SFRs.
However, while the SFR-only NICU is perceived as less stressful
than the SFR portion of the combined unit, very little difference
was found in response to the question ‘the environment supports
the family’s presence and participation.’ This suggests that
common factors that are not associated with the physical
environment may be contributing to stress levels.
Consistent with their high ratings of the physical environment,
members of the nursing staff in Hospital 1 report less stress and
more satisfaction with their job than their counterparts in Hospital
2. Within this context, the most problematic areas in all three
locations were workload, inadequate preparation, death and dying,
and conflicts with physicians, all factors that are typically
independent of the physical environment. These factors have been
demonstrated in other studies to be challenging for nursing staff.
The study confirmed that nurse job satisfaction may be higher
in the SFR configurations. This satisfaction is corroborated by other
data indicating lower stress levels and perceptions of a higher
quality experience for families.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to explore the implications of SFR
design of NICUs comparison to other current design configurations.
We used a review of the literature and the results of this study to
provide practitioners with recommendations for the design of
NICUs and to present researchers with an agenda for future, more
focused research studies.
Based on the results of this study, SFR NICU design provides
solutions for increasing parent privacy and presence, supporting
HIPAA compliance, minimizing the number of undesirable beds,
increasing staff satisfaction and reducing staff stress. Potential
limitations of the SFR design are reduced parent-to-parent social
contract and isolation of both parents and staff. In the projects
reviewed in this study, construction cost was not notably influenced
by design configuration.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by a research grant from the Coalition for Health
Environments Research (CHER) and is available at www.cheresearch.org. Support
was also provided by the Regional Newborn Program at Memorial Hospital, South
Bend, IN. Preliminary data were presented at the High Risk Infant Conference,
Orlando, FL, 27 January 2006. We thank the participating hospitals, architecture
firms and construction companies. We especially thank the other members of the
research team: Stanley Graven, MD; Leslie Parker, ARNP; Beverly Johnson; Judy
Smith, MHA; Teri Oelrich, RN; and Kathleen Philbin, PhD for their contributions
to the completion of this project.
Statistical Reviewer: Xiaobo Quan, M ARCH, College of Architecture, Texas
A&M University.
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