Conceptualizing Health Promotion in Relation to Outpatient Healthcare Building Design: A Scoping Review

Abstract

While diverse health promotion perspectives might merely represent variations in focus, these differences become problematic when relating to building design. To support further dialogs on development of health promotion in, and in relation to, the build environment, there is a need to strengthen the health promotion vocabulary. Further research is needed to compare different design approaches and how these can be combined to minimize contradicting implications for building design.

The Relationship between Sustainable Built Environment, Art Therapy and Therapeutic Design in Promoting Health and Well-Being

“…When studying how the healthcare of the built environment affects human health, it is necessary to choose and apply the correct theory to establish an evidence base for the design of the built environment in order to develop more suitable health interventions [33]. In addition, in the design of outpatient healthcare buildings, the concept of health promotion includes three perspectives on health behavior, health equity, and sense of coherence [34]. When designing for the elderly, lighting quality, sound and smell are important Environmental Indoor Quality (IEQ) characteristics that promote the active life of dementia patients [35].…”

The Swedish Health Promoting Healthcare network and the built environment

“…The International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services (HPH-Network) was initiated by the WHO in 1990 with the goal to support hospitals in the process of becoming health promoting organizations (Pelikan et al, 2001;Whitehead, 2004;WHO Europe, 2006, 2007. Health promotion work, and specifically health promotion in healthcare, should include the creation of a health promoting physical environment (WHO Europe, 2007;Golembiewski, 2010;Hancock, 2012;Dietscher et al, 2017;Miedema et al, 2019b) which is the combination and interaction between the natural (air, soil, plants and water) and built environment (buildings and spaces created or modified by humans) (Schulz and Northridge, 2004). Despite the recognized importance of the physical environment for HPH, no systematic investigation has been performed on how the built environment is integrated into the HPH-networks.…”

“…Fewer studies focused on design perspectives for health promotion. Diverse perspectives can be found such as design for well-being, health behaviour, health equity or empowerment (Miedema et al, 2019b;Miedema, 2020). Design for well-being focuses on individuals' positive and holistic health outcomes (Miedema, 2020) and can include concepts such as salutogenic design.…”

“…Buildings can also limit or stimulate certain health-related behaviours, such as healthy eating, physical activity, social interaction or sleep. For example, by designing and integrating educational kitchens in a healthcare building (Miedema et al, 2019b;Miedema, 2020) or encouraging people to be more active by designing attractive stairs (Feenstra, 2021;Foster and Hillsdon, 2004). Attention to health equity and the needs and abilities of vulnerable populations, the design can be culturally sensitive, universal and inclusive.…”

“…Lastly, the need for empowerment has been related to both to the ability to be involved in the design process of new environments (Eriksson et al, 2012;Elf et al, 2015), access to health information (Miedema et al, 2019a), as well as being able to control your surroundings (Golembiewski, 2010;Ulrich et al, 2010), such as the temperature or lighting. However, a review on how health promotion design was implemented in outpatient healthcare, showed an overall lack of research, and that the research tends to be fragmented; thus focused on only a few aspect of health promotion and not combining for instance design for health equity and healthy behaviours (Miedema et al, 2019b). Moreover, there seems no consensus as to what design for health promotion means and thus what it should focus on (Miedema et al, 2019b).…”