Staff participation in design with multiple tools: Impact on design and POE results

Abstract

Objective: This is a concluding part of an action research study to evaluate the impact on healthcare staff participation in the design of a new intensive care unit (ICU). Staff participated with multiple tools in the design; during the predesign phase utilizing co-design and virtual mock-ups, and also participating in the predesign evaluation (PDE) and postoccupancy evaluation (POE). Both the ICU design and evaluations were based on the principles of evidence-based design studies. Method: Staff satisfaction was evaluated with an online survey comprising 116 statements on 13 different topics used both in PDE and POE. There was space for open-ended comments after each topic. Results: There was a statistically significant difference (<.001) between PDE and POE results. There were considerable improvements in privacy, accessibility, safety and security, and acoustics. It was assumed that participation in the predesign phase would positively influence POE results, but there were no statistical differences in any topics. However, as a result of collaborative predesign phase, the staff was satisfied with these jointly designed patient rooms. Open-ended questions revealed the importance to continue functional and technical support for staff after commissioning and ensure that technical solutions are practical and well-functioning. Conclusion: The use of PDE and POE assists to set predetermined criteria and evaluate the success of design. Healthcare providers should see POE as a valuable part of design and commissioning process. Additionally, the use of POE should be made more effortless and the results more easily accessible to promote increased interest and usage.

The Impact of Measurable Findings from Pre- and Post-Occupancy Evaluations of Indoor Environmental Quality in the Primary Workspace

“…For this project, the actual users' feedback regarding the built environments from the PDOE identified needed design modifications then implemented by the design team. Users' participation in the pre-design process can positively impact their satisfaction with the built environment [31]. Office employees, especially, spend most of their time at work; therefore, the built environment can significantly influence their satisfaction, performance, and health.…”

The Reorganization of a Psychiatric Unit During COVID-19: A Reflection for Psychiatric Hospital Design

“…Further, this study does not evaluate the impact of collaboration on predesign. Like Jouppila (2021) , future research should systematically explore and evaluate the collaborative participation of this project to provide a more detailed impression of how their impression of the clinical environment changed during the pandemic and how new healthcare environments can be designed to be more responsive.…”