Luminous environment in healthcare buildings for user satisfaction and comfort: an objective and subjective field study

Lighting is a very important factor in healthcare, with positive effects both on patients' mood and recovery time and on the nursing staff's job satisfaction and reduced stress. Nevertheless, few studies focused specifically on lighting in healthcare buildings. This study investigated the luminous environmental quality through an objective and a subjective approach, reporting results from field activities in four hospitals in Turin and Asti (region of Piedmont, Italy), aimed both at detecting critical conditions of non-compliance with reference to standards and at evaluating visual comfort of patients, visitors and of the nursing staff. From objective measurements, much non-compliance was found. In spite of this, subjective analyses showed that the group of patients and visitors was satisfied with the quality and quantity of lighting within their rooms, while the nursing staff were generally less satisfied. Based on these findings, first considerations for the design of user-centred healthcare buildings are discussed.