Single-Occupancy Patient Rooms: A Systematic Review of the Literature Since 2006

What the study found

Most studies reported at least some advantages of single rooms, with stronger evidence for communication, infection control, noise/sleep and preference, but trade-offs remained.

Limitations

Methodological quality varied; system-level effects depend on staffing and unit configuration.

Neurodesign interpretation

A room cannot be evaluated without its care system. The same enclosure that protects sleep may reduce passive observation or social contact.

Possible design implications

Evaluate room type together with unit layout, staffing visibility and social-support design.

Why it stays in the corpus

Retain as the updated single-room review.

Study design

Systematic review

Population

Hospital patients and users across 43 studies

Setting

Hospitals

Field

Healthcare design

Mechanism

Privacy, communication, infection, sleep

Spatial variable

Single patient rooms

Keywords

single patient room, hospital, sleep, privacy, communication