This term is the buzzword of the healthcare design industry. As you might imagine, it refers to the practice of using research information (otherwise known as “evidence”) to guide design decisions – a simple, yet powerful, concept.
The healthcare field is a delicate one. Interior designers who focus on creating environments to nurse the sick and dying must take into account wide variety of end-users – harried medical staff, suffering patients, distraught families – and a staggering array of factors – new technology and equipment, bacteria- and stain-resistant materials, the psychological responses and safety of end-users, ease and cost of maintenance, 24-hour facility use, federal privacy laws, cultural and religious differences, etc.
The thought process behind evidence-based healthcare design is this: use data gathered from a variety of healthcare studies to collaborate with the client and design an environment that is supportive of stressed-out staff members, healing to patients, soothing to families and friends, and highly functional for efficient, productive workflow.
