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Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

designweek.co.uk

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Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#11

Post by nomy99 »

SamuelAdams wrote: post #3

I'm curious if this applies to doctor offices too. In Japan, doctor offices are very barebones: small, cramped, and only has enough space for the doctor and one patient. Since Japan has national health care, they spend the minimum amount necessary to keep these offices operational. So there is no art, no big spaces, no "nice to have" things. If a patient only spends 15-30 minutes in that environment, will it really i…

The article says its for patients "receiving intrusive examinations, surgery, chemotherapy and emergency care".

So looks like the target of study is high stress cases.

As for cost, no one said you have to install Picasso or brand names. Plenty of local artists could contribute to wall designs, or even contributions from the affiliated hospital university's art department.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#12

Post by jdietrich »

Before everyone piles in with their opinion, has anyone actually found the research mentioned in this article? I've searched quite thoroughly, but I can't find any sign that it has actually been published anywhere. I did find the paper from 2004 and was not impressed.

http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/resources/research/documen...

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#13

Post by arkades »

jdietrich wrote: post #12

Before everyone piles in with their opinion, has anyone actually found the research mentioned in this article? I've searched quite thoroughly, but I can't find any sign that it has actually been published anywhere. I did find the paper from 2004 and was not impressed. http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/resources/research/documen...

I tried, and could not. And I’m baseline a little skeptical because the NHS has a history of pushing very poorly designed fad research precisely like this.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#14

Post by JulianMorrison »

SamuelAdams wrote: post #10
covercash wrote: post #5

Having spent many months of my life in hospital rooms, even just a brightly colored paint job really makes things feel better. A lot of older hospitals have very sterile, bland colors on the floors and walls that would make even a healthy happy human feel depressed.

Reason for that though: it's easier to see blood and other fluids on a bland / white wall. Since fluids are a common way for infectious diseases to spread, they need to be cleaned thoroughly and completely. Source: wife is a nurse in the ER.

Have you ever looked at a seemingly clean surface with a UV light? It's surprising how much invisible ick there is, and it pops out since it visibly fluoresces. This might be a useful way to see the spills?

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#15

Post by protomyth »

jdietrich wrote: post #12

Before everyone piles in with their opinion, has anyone actually found the research mentioned in this article? I've searched quite thoroughly, but I can't find any sign that it has actually been published anywhere. I did find the paper from 2004 and was not impressed. http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/resources/research/documen...

This [1] at least has an reference section, but most of the actual research listed is based on audio not visual.

I suspect that this article is an advertisement for Chelsea and Westminster Hospital’s new book, The Healing Arts which is available from Unicorn Publishing Group. I get the feeling any data, if available, is in the book.

1) http://www.lahf.org.uk/sites/default/files/Chelsea%20and%20W...

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#16

Post by kartan »

I have been working in some fast-growing software companies. Every few years, we change office and get one in a better place, with new furniture, fancier each time, tv monitor is everywhere, each wall had pictures and was colourful.

I had to go to the hospital, nothing serious. It was so extremely sad to see 30-40 years old furniture, dark rooms that had never been re-painted, power outlets had been refurbished for the new European type. There was a sign that said, "Do not leave weelchears in this zone". Of course, there were wheelchairs as they did not have space anywhere else.

It felt so completely wrong. Are we, as a society, investing in the right things? Austerity in Spain means that there is no money for hospitals, education, etc. Anything that is not live-and-dead is a luxury. Meanwhile, those companies, all registered in tax havens like Malta or Ireland, had money to spend in fancy breakfast, new furniture every few years, unused monitors in every wall, ...

We know that to go to a hospital is a bad experience as you would like to be anywhere else. Why do we make it so much worse? Why we do not invest in life quality?

I know that there are countries where it is worse, I am happy that everyone in the country had free health care. But, it could be much better.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#17

Post by barrkel »

kartan wrote: post #16

I have been working in some fast-growing software companies. Every few years, we change office and get one in a better place, with new furniture, fancier each time, tv monitor is everywhere, each wall had pictures and was colourful. I had to go to the hospital, nothing serious. It was so extremely sad to see 30-40 years old furniture, dark rooms that had never been re-painted, power outlets had been refurbished for t…

Patients are usually an inconvenience to the good running of a healthcare system.

In other words, incentives aren't aligned. The people with the power to make decisions have little or no forces making things better for healthcare consumers, outside of boutique private healthcare.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#18

Post by kingkawn »

kartan wrote: post #16

I have been working in some fast-growing software companies. Every few years, we change office and get one in a better place, with new furniture, fancier each time, tv monitor is everywhere, each wall had pictures and was colourful. I had to go to the hospital, nothing serious. It was so extremely sad to see 30-40 years old furniture, dark rooms that had never been re-painted, power outlets had been refurbished for t…

It seems likely that the emphasis on judging the aesthetic values of work spaces may itself be the issue, not that our hospitals and other public facing facilities are depressing.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#19

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

arkades wrote: post #9
d--b wrote: post #2

No shit Sherlock! You know what makes patients feel better too? Super large rooms with a lot of light, and designer furniture. Add quality meals and perhaps people will feel ok in hospitals...

Hospitals will have all of those things the moment people are willing to pay for them. Some hospitals have those now - for the sort of hospitals that predominantly serve patients with excellent insurance for high margin activities or who are paying cash. Eg, top tier specialty surgical centers and dedicated cancer centers. Most patients can’t afford their meds, or any type of hospital stay. They’re not paying a premi…

Most patients can't afford the organised health insurance scam industry. That's where most of the money goes.

Ending that scam and asking patients to add an extra percent or two on their bills to pay for good food and a good environment would barely be a rounding error compared to the banditry that forces them to pay outrageous and unjustifiable fees for common meds and routine medical services - never mind specialised care.

Re: Filling hospitals with art reduces patient stress, anxiety and pain

#20

Post by SamuelAdams »

JulianMorrison wrote: post #14
SamuelAdams wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reason for that though: it's easier to see blood and other fluids on a bland / white wall. Since fluids are a common way for infectious diseases to spread, they need to be cleaned thoroughly and completely. Source: wife is a nurse in the ER.

Have you ever looked at a seemingly clean surface with a UV light? It's surprising how much invisible ick there is, and it pops out since it visibly fluoresces. This might be a useful way to see the spills?

Yes, that's another verification tool they use for highly contagious (think HIV / AIDS / HEP-C) patients.

However, those lights are usually handheld and small. Expecting cleaning staff to cover 100% of all walls each time they cleaned it (which is multiple times a day) is prone to failure.

Plus those lights work best when the room is dark. Which means you could only clean it at night.

And some rooms have multiple patients, so now the cleaner people will need to work around them / have them be OK with the room being dark for a while. This can work, but again not every patient will be comfortable with a "crime scene investigation" happening while they recover.

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