Abstract
Little attention has been paid to health inequities designed into the physical spaces themselves. Clearly design is an important part of patient care. Design is simultaneously a complex system itself while existing as part of a larger complex (healthcare) system. For example, it is not enough to say that a patient experiences more stress because she/he is being treated in a hospital in a lower income area. The key, here, is that evidence demonstrates design as an important component, systemically, in healthcare. We know this to be true and base re-design efforts on this fact, but only in certain places. The central addition of this study is to point out that hospitals in higher income areas utilize the waiting room’s ecology and its influence on patient stress and care. Efforts to intervene, through design, in waiting room ecology have consequences to equitable access to healthcare. Therefore, this study examines the implications of health inequities designed-into physical space. Additionally, this study seeks to forefront the influence communication ecologies have in addressing health inequities. Innovations in addressing mental health needs in humanitarian settings: A complexity informed Action Research Case Study. Frontiers in Communication: Health Communication. 10.3389/fcomm.2020.601792 para 19, 2020). Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate, but also articulate, the ways design decisions impact people unequally and perpetuate health inequalities. To do so, this study investigates the communication ecologies of waiting rooms and their influence on patient stress and health equity and elucidates under-examined systemic components patient stress and well-being.
Highlights
Interior design has made its way into the consciousness of the healthcare landscape
This study examines the implications of health inequalities designed-into physical space
The analysis which follows includes a collage of images, and personal experiences using various information and communication technologies (ICTs)
Summary
Interior design has made its way into the consciousness of the healthcare landscape. Healthcare Interior Design, or HCID, has played an increasing role in hospital waiting rooms. Stress can make us sick and further complicate existing conditions (Sternberg, 2010). The importance of space in wellbeing and healing is well-established (Sternberg, 2010). The organization of waiting room spaces can stress us out. They hold the potential to calm us, help release our stress, and aid in healing. How often have you associated hospital waiting rooms with a sense of calm or relaxation? The organization of space and the impact of design (intentional or not) can be felt, literally How often have you associated hospital waiting rooms with a sense of calm or relaxation? The organization of space and the impact of design (intentional or not) can be felt, literally
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