Objective: This study aims to review and synthesize the empirical evidence about the connection between healthcare facility design and the mental health of healthcare professionals by reviewing the relevant literature. Background: Mental exhaustion of healthcare professionals is becoming a critical issue in healthcare, especially during the pandemic. The physical design of healthcare facilities has significant potential to reduce and prevent the mental exhaustion of healthcare professionals by removing environmental stressors and providing restorative experiences. However, the built environment is not fully utilized as an intervention to support healthcare professionals. Methods: Relevant articles were identified from the Medline, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science databases using a combination of search terms representing environmental design factors and health outcomes. Identified articles were reviewed by their titles, abstracts, and full texts using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: The search yielded 27 empirical articles investigating the relationships between environmental design factors and staff mental health outcomes, including stress, fatigue, job satisfaction, burnout, and well-being. Healthcare design aspects that were investigated in the identified articles include overall facility and perception (e.g., aesthetic appeal and impression, belonging to the surroundings, safety), specific spaces (e.g., patient area, staff workspace), intangible elements (e.g., exterior view, light, sound), and interior space and ergonomics (e.g., material finishes, furniture). Conclusions: Through the synthesis of the current literature regarding the relationships between healthcare facility design and the mental health of healthcare professionals, this study provides implications for supporting healthcare professionals through the design of the healthcare facility.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a mouse model for multiple sclerosis (MS), in which an inflammatory demyelination and axonal damage occurs. Kombucha tea is a fermented beverage made from kombucha mushroom, brewed tea, and sugar. In recent years kombucha tea has attracted interest due to its pharmacological properties like antioxidant effects. The aim of the present research was to test the therapeutic effect of kombucha tea in EAE. We induced EAE model in 18 female C57BL/6 mice by inoculation of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein- ) in complete Freund's adjuvant emulsion. Then, in order to ameliorate EAE symptoms, we used kombucha tea. During the course of study clinical evaluation was assessed, and on the day 21 post-immunization, for evaluation of nitric oxide (NO), total antioxidants capacity and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), blood samples were taken from the heart of mice. The mice were sacrificed and brains and cerebellums of mice were removed for histological analysis. Our findings demonstrated that kombucha tea had beneficial effects on EAE by lower incidence, attenuation in the severity, and also a delay in the onset of disease. Histological analysis showed that inflammatory criteria including the number of infiltrated immune cells and plaques as well as demyelination in kombucha tea dosed mice were significantly lower than the control group. Also, in comparison with control mice, the serum levels of NO and TNF-α in kombucha teatreated mice were significantly decreased. Kombucha tea with its potential therapeutic effects and immunomodulatory properties might be proposed, after additional necessary tests and trials, for treatment of MS.

The goal of this study is to generate designerly solutions for improving the culture of healthy food consumption in Tehran, Iran through cultural-historical activity theory. Even though individuals might make conscious decisions to consume healthy food, their environment might prevent them from doing so. Given the current lack of attention toward a holistic viewpoint that considers obese target users, healthy nutrition, and specifications of a target society, therapy procedures recommended by therapists as well as general healthy nutrition policies have been made useless and much less effective. The case study in this research was conducted on patients with obesity and preliminary studies show lack of success of patients, regardless of their nutrition program recommended by therapists. Observations were interpreted that unhealthy nutrition habits and obesity would not be changed just based on a calorie variable as being calculated in diets, but social, cultural and psychological factors do have an important role in generating obesity, and the disregard for considering such factors have resulted in divergence of patients between health centers, sports clubs, and monitoring groups (whether physicians or nutritionists). The hypothesis generated from such observations would signify that considering cultural-social context and generating a useful model (considering effective variables), together with treatment procedures, would help the patient reach a successful goal. Expansive design was chosen as the design approach in order to emphasize continuing the relation between users and providers of service, even after obtaining the service by a user. This viewpoint and design resulted in the dialogue between user and provider of the service or product. Based on the research, three solution scenarios were generated: considering promoting healthy nutrition culture through schools, general promotion strategies in media and society, and a collective treatment system. Based on priorities and requirements, the third scenario, designing a collective treatment center was chosen and conceptualized through tools such as system map, interaction storyboard, and consumer satisfaction diagram. The value of such a study is based on presentation and institutionalizing the theoretical infrastructures in the area of service design, while diverse solutions would be presented to specialists based on scenario-based design as well.

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