A Review of the Research Literature on Evidence-Based Healthcare Design

What the study found

The review found design-relevant evidence across infection control, acoustics, nature/daylight, ergonomics, room type and layout, while quality varied by topic.

Limitations

Now historically dated; many included studies observational; should be paired with later reviews.

Neurodesign interpretation

Healthcare design is where architecture-outcome research became most clinically concrete, but also where confounding is highest because design changes rarely occur alone.

Possible design implications

Use it as a bibliography and compare each design claim with later updates.

Why it stays in the corpus

Retain as the foundational evidence-based healthcare design map.

Study design

Extensive evidence review

Population

Patients and staff across healthcare studies

Setting

Hospitals

Field

Healthcare design

Mechanism

Patient safety, stress, infection, staff outcomes

Spatial variable

Single rooms, ventilation, acoustics, nature, daylight, layout

Keywords

healthcare, evidence-based design, single rooms, daylight, acoustics