Seventeenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

In this research, we consider the influences of healthcare building design on bedded patients’ recovery rate in Dokuz Eylül University Hospital in İzmir/Turkey. We question how indoor space quality of hospital rooms affect the patients’ recovery and how environmental stress affects their well-being. Their well-being were measured by crowding, personal space, privacy and territoriality which are the notions of environmental psychology. The influences of indoor space quality on the users’ recovery were measured by the amount of daylight and artificial light, natural ventilation; acoustics and noise control in the space; and the outside view. In addition, the effects of the physical environment on the user’s recovery were measured by the preferences of color and material selection of a hospital room and the plan layout of a space. The most important finding of this study is that the bedded patients who get adequate sunlight to recover faster than patients who are bedded in a room without sunlight. In addition, when heatlhcare buildings and patient rooms are designed according to notions of environmental psychology, stress levels of bedded patients diminished and recovery progress was accelerated. Also we found a significant relationship between medical staff’s work performance and the duration of patient recovery. The significance of this study is to understand the effects of interior design and indoor quality on the healing process and recovery time. Hospital management, architects and interior designers, and other design disciplines may take advantage of this research for designing a healthcare facility.