The impact of the environment on the experience of hospitalized stroke patients – an exploratory study

The aim of this study is to understand neurology patients, family and caregivers experiences of in-patient care environments and to investigate the aspects of the healing process that can be supported by the environment. Our goal is to identify the role the environment plays during the process of being treated for and recovering from a stroke. The stroke patient’s description of experiences during hospitalization will help researchers, medical professionals and architects in adjusting the environment according to their specific needs. A set of research methods was used to capture the experience, changing the role of researcher as an observer to a participatory approach, integrating the caregivers as creators of the research data [1], [2]. These methods included: shadowing, observation and interviewing, allowing nurses to describe their experiences and to obtain a voice in decision making. We built insights from healing environment literature combined with own field studies. Specific environmental needs identified include: dosing stimulus load, having social support, having access to single patient rooms, balancing clinical and personal environments, having a clear structure of the day, undisturbed sleeping and the need for information.