Publisher: The Center for Health Design

Evidence-based design (EBD) means different things to different people.  For starters, it doesn't mean simply spending money on lavish amenities.  The concept of EBD in healthcare is drawing interest because it seeks to gauge the impact of specific designs on productivity, employee and patient morale, and patient outcomes.

EBD has been shown to improve hospital environments int three key ways by: enhancing patient safety by reducing infection, risk, injuries from falls, and medical errors; eliminating environmental stressors, such as noise, that negatively affect outcomes and staff performance; reducing stress and promote healing by making hospitals more pleasant, comfortable, and supportive for patients and staff alike.

A Practitioner's Guide to Evidence-Based Design is meant to bridge the gap between theory and practice in the design of healthcare facilities.  It represents several years of work spearheaded by The Center for Health Design focusing on how to improve the outcomes of patients by helping to make our hospitals better designed.

Podcast interviews with the authors discuss some of these topics:
- Franklin Becker, PhD discusses why it is important to know about the effectiveness, adoption and diffusion of evidence. Listen to the podcast.