Lighting Control in Patient Rooms: Understanding Nurses’ Perceptions of Hospital Lighting Using Qualitative Methods

Abstract

Purpose: This study differs in its methodological approach from previously published research by interpreting qualitative results against existing literature to understand how nurses conceptualize medical–surgical patient rooms as productive settings in relation to lighting, as well as the ways in which nurses believe these spaces could be enhanced for patient satisfaction. Methods: Content analysis was used to interpret themes emerging from nurses’ subjective responses to open-ended items. Three of the facilities had older, traditional lighting systems; one had a contemporary framework. Results: A theme of environmental control over both overhead and task lighting emerged from data from all items. Although controllability was among the “best” lighting attributes, more refinement is necessary for optimal staff productivity and patient satisfaction. Daylighting was also considered to be among the best attributes. Control over light level via additional dimming capability for patients, as well as additional light sources, was prominent across the four hospitals. Unique to the more modern facility, trespassing of light was problematic for nurses considering the experiences of patients—even where modern models exist, more attention can be paid to the ways in which window shades, and light sources outside of rooms, penetrate spaces and affect users. Conclusion: The finding that nurses and patients desire greater control over the lighting in patient rooms is consistent with Ulrich’s theory of supportive design for healthcare and coincides with advances in lighting technology. Despite differences in the level of sophistication in lighting among the four facilities, control continues to be a primary concern for nurses.

Lighting the Patient Room of the Future: Evaluating Different Lighting Conditions for Performing Typical Nursing Tasks

“…Many TEC and some CEC patient room lighting systems force the nurse to choose between turning on bright, overhead lighting or attempting to perform their tasks without this lighting. In some cases, nurses rely on bringing their own supplemental lighting device (such as a flashlight or smartphone) to avoid disrupting the patient’s sleep (McCunn et al, 2020 ).…”

Transforming healthcare service environments: a sensory-based approach

“…mainly patients) or only one or two sensory modalities or within a specific hospital space or at a particular stage of service delivery (e.g. Blaschke et al, 2017;Fenko and Loock, 2014;G omez-Urquiza et al, 2016;Hamed et al, 2019;McCunn et al, 2021), we proposed and examined the potential role of multiple sensory-based tactics across several critical service touchpoints. Taken together, our findings contribute to enriching the healthscape research.…”

“…, 2016; Hamed et al. , 2019; McCunn et al. , 2021), we proposed and examined the potential role of multiple sensory-based tactics across several critical service touchpoints.…”

“…olfactory and/or auditory; Fenko and Loock, 2014) within a specific hospital space (e.g. patient and waiting rooms; Hamed et al, 2019;McCunn et al, 2021) or at a particular stage of service delivery (e.g. pre-surgery or as an outpatient; G omez- Urquiza et al, 2016;Tsai et al, 2007).…”

Identifying Nurses’ Perception of a Lighting Installation in a Newly Built Hospital

“…As previously argued [20], this might be explained by the complexity of applying such methods to real-life cases, and the difficulty of studying lighting conditions in real-life situations, where field research at hospitals can present the researcher with difficult access and ethical issues. The number of studies focusing on nurses' perception of lighting IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1099/1/012027 2 in health care environments is however, growing steadily [21,22]. For instance, McCunn et al [24] conducted a content analysis of open-ended responses, concluding that controllability of brightness levels was among the most valued attributes of lighting, together with better task lighting.…”