Building a model of holistic healing environments for children's hospitals with implications for the design and management of children's hospitals.
Item
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Title
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Building a model of holistic healing environments for children's hospitals with implications for the design and management of children's hospitals.
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Identifier
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AAI3205000
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identifier
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3205000
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Creator
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de Vos, Fiona.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Roger Hart
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Date
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2006
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical | Health Sciences, Health Care Management
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Abstract
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The primary goal of this dissertation is to develop a conceptual model of children's hospitals as holistic healing environments. The primary focus of the model is to maintain to the maximal degree possible the qualities of everyday life for children and their families. This is based on the principle of reducing stress while in the hospital and easing transitions into and out of the hospital.;To build a conceptual model from the synthesis of current knowledge, a preliminary model with seven dimensions of healing was created based on an extensive analysis of the literature on healing. In addition, interviews and observations at a children's hospital were conducted with parents, patients, and staff to complement what was found in the literature. This model was then used to design a study of the transition from an old to a new children's hospital building. Interviews, participant observation, behavioral mapping, and questionnaires were used to assess how patients, parents and staff experienced the old and the new hospital as a healing environment and to quantify and compare indicators of healing such as mobility and activity of patients. The data found in the case study were used to more richly conceptualize a holistic healing environment for children, to modify the dimensions, and thereby to revise the model. The revised model integrates the needs and concerns for patients, parents and staff into one model of a holistic healing environment. The revised model contains nine dimensions: meeting basic physiological needs, feeling safe and secure, maximizing agency and control, facilitating social support, enabling everyday behavior, providing distraction and engagement, normalizing the environment, and supporting parents and staff in their caring roles.;The significance of this study is that by conceptualizing what a holistic healing environment in a children's hospital consists of, and what the primary design-healing relationships are, designers now have a coherent and comprehensive behavioral base for designing healthcare environments with positive effects on the healing process.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
