Abstract
This study appraised the influence of design characteristics of the paediatric hospital physical facilities with a view to develop the physical facilities design characteristics policies for paediatric hospital designers, managers and policy makers. In this study, the hospital physical facilities are defined by the spaces used by the professional staff, equipment, the building form, their furniture and fixtures. Also, the design characteristics of the hospital physical facilities are defined by the building proximity, privacy, wayfindings, flexibility and adaptability. The notable paediatric hospital selected in the developed country is Emma Kinderziekenhuis Pediatric Hospital in Amsterdam, Netherland because it has developed a remarkable work in the healthcare settings with a deep concern on child-centred design, which were informed, implemented and accompanied by architects. Also, Peadiatric department of University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan Nigeria was selected because it is the largest city in Nigeria which can be used to generalize what is obtained in peadiatric hospital physical facilities in southwestern Nigeria. Through analysis of one of the notable hospitals in both the developed and developing worlds, the design characteristics of selected hospital were examined using case study method such as the use of building plans, the site layout and the use of photograph among others. The results of the investigation show that hospital design characteristics have a great influence on both the patients and staff including the visitors. However, the planning and design characteristics of the physical facilities in the Netherland Children Hospital were found to be very good compared with its counterpart in Southwestern Nigerian University Teaching Hospital. It is, however, concluded that, the Nigerian University Teaching Hospitals should learn from the design characteristics appraised from the Netherland Children Hospital. The result of this study will be useful as a design policies standard for the Nigerian government, healthcare developers and children hospital designers in southwestern, Nigeria.
Highlights
Healthcare practice has expanded over the past 24 years and incorporation of design and satisfaction research in the hospital environment has not been popular among the researchers in Africa (Shepley & Song, 2014)
This study focused the psychological design issues of the physical facilities relating to factors such as proximity and wayfinding flexibility and adaptability of different types of spaces provided
The above appraisal is an evidence that the wayfings within the hospital physical facilities is considerably to be good because of availability of wayfindings facilities such as adequate labeling of spaces, location of sign posts in some strategic places within the hospital environment, but more can still be done to enhance the performance of the way finding facilities for the children hospitals in the future
Summary
Healthcare practice has expanded over the past 24 years and incorporation of design and satisfaction research in the hospital environment has not been popular among the researchers in Africa (Shepley & Song, 2014). Paediatric Hospital environments need to be constructed for child friendly and children’s right to dignity, privacy, family support and self-control (Lambert, Coad, Hicks, Glacken, 2013) Further literature revealed that, hospitals that care for infants and children must provide inpatient areas that are safe, furnished appropriately, equipped properly, staffed adequately, radiology and laboratory services. The facility design for children must contain single- or double-occupancy rooms large enough to accommodate parents, who may choose to stay with their children, location of beds to allow for observation and supervision of patients by nursing staff, covered electrical outlets, appropriate window locks and door latches, padding of all sharp edges, and nonslip, maintained floor coverings, air, oxygen, suction equipment, and electrical outlets at each bed, with access to the hospital emergency power system, age-appropriate furniture, cribs equipped with safe overhead restraints and beds with covers on mechanical or electrical controls, area set aside for play, entertainment, education, and other child life activities and Treatment room and procedures (Schaeffer, 1998). This study focused the psychological design issues of the physical facilities relating to factors such as proximity and wayfinding flexibility and adaptability of different types of spaces provided
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