The design of health care spaces is not incidental to how well health interventions work. What people see, hear, feel and taste in care settings can have profound effects on quality of care, including pain medication use, length of stay and even the risk of medical error.
The December issue of AMA Journal of Ethics® (@JournalofEthics) considers evidence-based design ideas in health care that motivate good care. Hardly a new domain, evidence-based design takes on the challenge of balancing the needs of patients, care teams and visitors needs to guide architecture, engineering, building construction and service-delivery decisions.
AMA Journal of Ethics is an editorially independent, peer-reviewed journal devoted to helping students and clinicians navigate ethical decisions in service to patients and communities. The December issue of AMA Journal of Ethics includes the following articles.
“Who Should Contribute to Decisions About Health Care Space Design?”
- This commentary on a case suggests merits and drawbacks of shared decision-making as one approach to certificate-of-need assessments.
“What Should Health Professions Trainees Learn About Built Environment Activism?”
- This article offers examples of connections between built environments and health outcomes and discusses the how these environments are regulated.
“Evidence-Based Design and Liability Risks for Health Care Organizations.”
- Since the 1980s, science about how built environments influence human health has been used by architects, engineers and designers to inform decisions about health care organizations’ structures and spaces.
“How Innovative Designs Can Help Ease Ethical Tension in Good Dementia Caregiving and Decision-Making.”
- The European Dementia Village is a pioneering health care site, and a U.S.-based model is the Dementia Friendly City Center, which integrates service delivery into adaptive reuse and urban revitalization.
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Listen and learn
The journal’s December “Ethics Talk” podcast features a discussion with Jeanne Kisacky, PhD, an independent scholar who has taught classes on the topic of health and architecture at several U.S. universities, and John Meyer, a design consultant with experience bringing human-centered design to health care systems. The podcast explores changes in hospital design from the late 1800s to now, as well as how design thinking can help physicians and other health professionals provide better care for patients.
The December issue also features three author-interview podcasts and one editorial-fellow interview podcast. Listen to previous episodes of the “Ethics Talk” podcast or subscribe in iTunes or other services.
Also, CME modules drawn from this month’s issue are collected at the AMA Ed Hub™ AMA Journal of Ethics webpage.
The next issue of the journal will focus on epidemiology and clinical practice. Apply to be an AMA Journal of Ethics editorial fellow or senior editorial fellow and help design a theme issue.
