The implementation of environmental satisfaction sources in the design of a health centre is a means to achieve stress reduction. The present work analyses the effect that these sources have on the ...stress reduction of patients' companions in a paediatric service. A two-phase study was carried out. During the first phase, 120 participants assessed 20 waiting rooms in situ in order to select the environmental sources with the greatest effect. During the second phase, the stress levels of 26 participants were measured in four simulated waiting rooms that combined the selected sources from the first phase. A multisensory simulation was carried out through a virtual reality experiment with visual, auditory and olfactory elements, and stress levels were measured at the psychological and neurophysiological levels. Results suggest that a combination of environmental satisfaction sources creates an important synergistic effect at the psychological and neurophysiological levels and underlines the importance of auditory and olfactory stimuli. Conclusions may be of interest to designers and managers of healthcare facilities.
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BFBNIB, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
•Waiting room nurse needs to be an experienced emergency nurse.•Highly developed communication, clinical decision making and assessment skills required.•Key outcomes of the role are patient safety ...and delivery of patient centred care.•A standardised approach to education, preparation and policy is recommended.
To improve flow and care in waiting rooms, some emergency departments introduced a specific nursing role to care for this patient cohort with the aim of commencing interventions early, improving patient safety by reassessing and enhancing communication. The objective of the research was to explore to what extent does qualitative interviews and quantitative survey contribute to describing emergency department waiting room nurses, through integration and synthesis of findings from a multiphase mixed methods study.
Multiphase mixed methods exploratory sequential design with integration of findings. Data integration occurred during the phases and when assimilating all findings.
Experienced emergency nurses, preferably with graduate qualifications, who are autonomous practitioners with highly developed communication skills, clinical decision making and proficiency in assessment and monitoring are required to perform the role. The waiting room nurse provides patient-centered care and ensures safe, timely care is delivered to those in the waiting room. A standardised approach and high risk of exposure to occupational stressors need to be considered.
This mixed methods sequential design explored the waiting room nurse role from the perspective of emergency nurses generating new knowledge into the role. This advanced practice nursing role contributes to patient safety and delivery of patient centred care in the emergency department waiting room.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
This study evaluates waiting experiences in a cancer treatment context. It examines the effects of multiple servicescape dimensions, including the design, spatial layout and functionality of the ...physical surroundings alongside ambient conditions such as lighting and temperature, on visitor satisfaction. The study adopted a case-study strategy in a cancer and haematology clinic at a UK hospital. Scoping discussions with clinical staff, observations of the clinical environment and ‘walk-throughs’ were used to develop a survey to capture visitors’ expectations, perceptions and satisfaction with waiting experiences. Ambient conditions were shown to have a greater impact on satisfaction than the design and layout. Perceptions of wayfinding and privacy features, alone and in combination, were shown to influence satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Improving experiences of privacy and wayfinding can significantly improve overall satisfaction. Better management of these dimensions can help compensate for deficiencies in other areas of the physical servicescape.
•Examines the waiting experiences in a cancer care setting.•Evaluates the impacts of the physical servicescape on user satisfaction.•Ambient conditions have a greater impact on satisfaction than design and layout.•Wayfinding and privacy features, alone and in combination, affect (dis)satisfaction.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
We systematically reviewed different waiting room designs and interventions during the waiting time, before medical or dental treatment. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale ...and the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool.
Studies reporting on different interventions in medical waiting areas and parameters like heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure DBP), respiratory rate (RR) and/or anxiety state trait anxiety inventory (STAI), visual analogue scale (VAS) and mood multi-dimensional mood state questionnaire (MDBF) were included. Two authors independently searched and extracted records.
Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, Google Scholar) were screened, and hand searches and cross-referencing performed.
81 articles were included for qualitative (n=53) and quantitative (n=28) analyses. The meta-analysis revealed significant reduction in the patient’s HR when exposed to aquariums for 20 minutes (p=0.02), animal/bird/aquarium videos (p=0.001). BP was significantly reduced by listening to music for <20 minutes (SBP: p=0.011; DBP: p=0.029). Overall subjective assessments revealed a significant reduction (p<0.001) in anxiety by music and aroma therapy (>20 minutes: p<0.001; <20 minutes: p=0.014).
Optimal exposure time to aquariums, animal/bird/aquarium videos, aromatherapy, or listening to music may have a positive impact on the pre-treatment stress and anxiety of patients waiting to undergo a medical procedure.
Music, aroma and aquarium interventions in waiting areas can be recommended for clinical practice. The side effect profile is low and all three interventions show an anxiety-reducing effect, when waiting times are 20 minutes and more. Dentists could use the waiting area to reduce stress and anxiety in their patients.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Presenting attractive and useful health education materials in waiting rooms can help improve an organization’s health literacy responsiveness. However, it is unclear to what extent patients may be ...interested in health education materials, such as brochures. We conducted a three-week field study in waiting rooms of three primary care centers in Groningen. Three versions of a brochure on doctor-patient communication were randomly distributed, 2250 in total. One version contained six short photo stories, another version was non-narrative but contained comparable photos, and the third version was a traditional brochure. Each day we counted how many brochures were taken. We also asked patients (N = 471) to participate in a brief interview. Patients who consented (N = 390) were asked if they had noticed the brochure. If yes (N = 135), they were asked why they had or had not browsed the brochure, and why they had or had not taken it. Interview responses were categorized by two authors. Only 2.9% of the brochures were taken; no significant association with brochure version was found. Analysis of the interview data showed that the version with the photo narrative was noticed significantly more often than the non-narrative version or the traditional version. These results suggest that designing attractive and comprehensible health materials is not enough. Healthcare organizations should also create effective strategies to reach their target population.
This study explores the emotional impact of virtual forest therapy delivered through audio-visual recordings shown to patients in the oncology waiting rooms, focusing on whether simulated forest ...walks can positively influence patients' emotional states compared to traditional waiting room stimuli.
The study involved 117 participants from a diverse group of oncology patients in the outpatient clinic waiting room at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute. Using a partially randomized controlled trial design, the study assessed basic emotional dimensions-valence and arousal-as well as specific psychological states such as thought control, sadness, anxiety, and pain. This assessment used the Self-Assessment Manikin and the modified Emotional Thermometer before and after participants watched three video types (forest, sea, news). Baseline stress levels were measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6).
Participants exposed to forest and sea videos reported significant improvements in emotional valence and reduced arousal, suggesting a calming and uplifting effect. No significant changes were observed in the control and news groups. Secondary outcomes related to anxiety, sadness, and pain showed no significant interaction effects, though small but significant main effects of time on these variables were noted.
The findings suggest that videos of forest and sea can be a beneficial intervention in the oncology waiting rooms by enhancing patients' emotional well-being. This pilot study underscores the potential for integrating virtual mental health support elements into healthcare settings to improve patient care experience.
Objective:
The study examined perceived control in the context of the outpatient waiting room to further understand the extent to which patients want to exercise control in that environment. ...Background: In Ulrich’s theory of supportive design, research shows more evidence for positive distraction and social support than for perceived control; its role in outpatient settings has not been examined.
Method:
This between-subjects experimental design, in which participants read a written scenario varying the number of patients waiting (1 or 5) and the control available (no information provided, personal controls, and room controls), examined the effect of those variables on stress, satisfaction with the environment, extent of perceived control, and participants’ schema of who should control the environment of the waiting room.
Results:
Having individual controls available in the waiting room favorably impacted the perception of the environment but did not significantly impact stress. The data show that people likely have a schema of appropriate behavior in a doctor’s waiting room, which does not encourage manipulation of environmental elements.
Conclusions:
In the doctor’s office waiting room, having individual controls, such as on-off knobs on table lamps next to each chair, can improve evaluation of the environment and increase people’s perception of control.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study explores the waiting space environment of pediatric clinics in general hospitals and the relationships between the use of space, behavioral activities and overall satisfaction. Patients ...often spend a lot of time waiting for doctors, and child patients waiting to be seen are particularly likely to feel bored, depressed and anxious, which negatively affects their overall experience of seeking medical attention. Since the launch of China’s second-child policy, the number of children born in China has surged. As medical resources for children are in short supply and of uneven quality, it is urgently necessary to carry out research on optimizing the design of children’s waiting space in Chinese hospitals to improve their medical environment and experience. Method: This study identified four first-level indicators and twenty-seven second-level indicators in four dimensions: functional layout (layout and area), flow organization, supporting facilities and environmental details (physical and landscape environment). The research combined subjective and objective methods, including comprehensive observation, a questionnaire survey and interviews, taking three hospitals in Shenzhen as case studies. Results: The study found that the waiting space in pediatric clinics currently fails to meet key patient needs in areas such as mother and infant rooms, children’s play areas and drinking water facilities, and there are widespread problems with the creation of natural environments, such as views of natural scenery from windows and indoor green plants. Six factors were found to significantly positively influence overall satisfaction with waiting space, describing 69.76% of the changes in the respondents’ degree of satisfaction with the waiting environment. Supporting facilities and aspects of the physical environment had the greatest influence on overall satisfaction with the waiting space. Conclusion: Optimizing the design of the waiting space in pediatric clinics, with a focus on functional layout, flow organization, supporting facilities and environmental details, can improve overall satisfaction with pediatric waiting rooms. The results are preliminary; they need to be further tested in practice to complete the process of evidence-based design. This will lead to suggestions for refining the design of pediatric waiting units which can be used by architects and hospital administrators.
Objective:
This study examines the impact of ambulatory waiting room characteristics on patients’ emotional states and investigates whether these states are universally experienced or influenced by ...social and cultural factors among women aged 18–35 from the three largest demographic groups in the United States: Black, Hispanic/Latina, and White.
Background:
Patients typically spend more time waiting for routine medical appointments than receiving care, and evidence suggests that waiting can reinforces power dynamics that benefit privileged groups, leading to different experiences for minority women seeking preventative care. Still, literature addressing the impact of waiting areas is largely limited to universal measures, and little is known about how different ethnic/race groups respond to waiting spaces.
Methods:
This inquiry used a questionnaire assessing 15 waiting room characteristics and testing four variables (furniture arrangement, room-scale, color saturation, and quantity of positive distractions) in a 2 × 3 quasiexperiment using a fractional randomized block design with 24 waiting room images.
Findings:
Responses from 1,114 participants revealed mutual preferences for sociopetal seating, positive distractions, neutral colors, and welcoming and calming environments. Yet, Black participants indicated significantly greater importance in seeing ethnically/racially similar patients and healthcare providers and strategies that promote transparency, including image-based provider directories and views into the clinic.
Conclusion:
By investigating the impact of the waiting room environment on patient affect and comparing perceptions across three demographic groups of women, this study offers insights into potential strategies for improving access to preventative care services by creating more welcoming ambulatory care waiting environments.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Objectives:
Measure the immediate change in intensive care unit (ICU) family members’ state stress levels from the beginning to the end of a person’s visit to a hospital garden and compare the ...changes produced by the garden with those associated with spending time in indoor hospital environments intended for respite and relaxation.
Background:
No previous research has compared the efficacy of different physical environments as interventions to foster stress reduction in family members of ICU patients, a group of hospital visitors known to experience high levels of distress.
Method:
A convenience sample of 42 ICU patient family (from 42 different families) completed the Present Functioning Visual Analogue Scales (PFVAS) before and after each visit (128 total visits) to a garden, an atrium/café, or ICU waiting room.
Results:
Stress scores significantly declined (i.e., improved) from the start to the end of a break on all PFVAS subscales (p < .0001) in both the garden and indoors locations. However, it is noteworthy that garden breaks resulted in significantly greater improvement in the “sadness” scale than breaks in indoor locations (p = .03), and changes in all five other PFVAS scores showed somewhat more reduction of stress for breaks spent in the garden than indoors, although these differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusion:
Creating an unlocked garden with abundant nature located close to an ICU can be an effective intervention for significantly mitigating state stress in family members of ICU patients and can be somewhat more effective than indoor areas expressly designed for family respite and relaxation.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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