A Social-Ecological Approach to Identify Facilitators and Barriers of Home Modifications.

Aging individuals may face difficulty with independently navigating and interacting with their home environment. Evidence-based interventions promoting home modifications are needed to support aging-in-place across the lifespan. This study identified the facilitators and barriers to implementing home modifications from the perspectives of residents and professionals (N = 16). Guided by a social-ecological model, researchers utilized directed content analysis of focus group interviews. While participants discussed facilitators and barriers mainly on the individual level, factors were presented at the relationship, community, and societal level of the model. Overall, the findings suggest a potential for targeted interventions on all levels of the model to promote adoption of home modifications.

The Impact of the Built Environment on Patient Falls in Hospital Rooms: An Integrative Review.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to identify and evaluate scientific evidence examining the impact of the built environment on patient falls in hospital rooms. METHODS: An integrative review (IR) with a systematic literature search was performed using the patient, intervention, comparison, outcome framework. We searched CINAHL, PsychINFO, PubMED, and Web of Science databases. The search included peer-reviewed studies from 1990 to 2017 written in English. An additional hand search was also conducted. Selected articles were reviewed and rated based on a hierarchical categorization, comprising six evidence levels, developed by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and adapted for evidence-based design systematic literature reviews. RESULTS: After a multitiered process, 30 articles met the selection criteria. Thematic areas were created based on the examined elements of the physical environment including patient room configuration and available space, bathroom configuration, bathtub and shower, door, bed height and bed rail, flooring, floor mats, patient chair, lighting, toilet, handrail, grab bars, intravenous pole, sink, ceiling lift, and wheelchair and walking aids. Findings of studies on each element are discussed in detail. CONCLUSIONS: Some environmental elements have not been examined in past relational or causal studies, and the level of evidence for the examined attributes is not high enough to gain robust confidence in healthcare design decision-making. Because of the low level of evidence for several environmental elements, conclusions must be taken with caution. More studies using quantitative, relational, or causal designs are recommended to develop actionable interventions on patient falls in hospital rooms.

Top Five Physical Design Factors Contributing to Fall Initiation.

PURPOSE:: To develop a prioritized list of physical design questions/interventions to reduce patient falls by conducting expanded analysis (Phase II) of data generated from a completed study phase. BACKGROUND:: Patient falls continue to be a critical concern for healthcare providers, patients, and families. While substantial literature exist on intrinsic factors, scientific evidence on the role of the physical environment is scarce. METHOD:: Expanded analysis of data from 180 videos of trials conducted in a physical mock-up of a medical-surgical inpatient room in a previously completed study phase. The odds of subject's exhibited postures (predictors) on fall initiation (outcome) were examined in a series of generalized linear mixed effects models. Physical design elements and attributes associated with postures exhibiting statistical significance were examined. RESULTS:: Turning, pulling, pushing, and bending forward exhibited the highest odds of contributing to fall initiation in the bathroom. Grabbing, pushing, and sitting exhibited the highest odds of contributing to fall initiation around the patient bed. Physical design elements/attributes associated with the above postures are the (1) bathroom door; (2) bathroom spatial configuration-relative locations of door, toilet bowl, and the sink; (3) door, toilet, and sink hardware; (4) space availability/tightness inside the clinician zone; and (5) spatial configuration around patient bed-relative locations of bed, patient chair, and overbed table, in relation to bathroom door, and resulting obstructions originating from the configuration. CONCLUSIONS:: Patient falls during unassisted ambulation may be reduced through appropriate examination of these five physical elements/attributes.

The Role of Environmental Design in Cancer Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survivorship: A Systematic Literature Review.

The purpose of this literature review is to provide a better understanding of the impact that environmental design can have on the process of cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. Cancer is considered a chronic disease in the United States, and more than 1.6 million new cases are diagnosed annually. New strategies of cancer care propose patient-centered services to achieve the best outcome, and researchers have found that environmental design can be an important part of improving this care. Searches were conducted in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases as well as in specific healthcare design journals such as Health Environments Research & Design, Environmental Psychology, and Environment and Behavior. The criteria for articles included in the review were (a) English-language articles related to facility design, which addressed (b) the topics of built environment in relation to cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, and were (c) published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2017. Finally, 10 articles were selected, and the contents were analyzed. The selected articles demonstrate that environmental design is one of the critical factors for success throughout the whole continuum of cancer care from diagnosis to end-of-treatment. Some of the specific conclusions from the review are that "neighborhood-oriented" design strategies can be beneficial (by providing accessibility to all facilities along the patient's path), that access to nature for patients, staff, and visitors alike is associated with better outcomes, and that provisions for natural lighting and noise reduction are associated with cancer patients' well-being.