Date of Award
12-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Legacy Department
Industrial Engineering
Committee Member
Dr. David M. Neyens, PhD, MHA, Committee Chair
Committee Member
Dr. Ken Catchpole, PhD
Committee Member
Dr. Joel Greenstein, PhD
Committee Member
Dr. Scott Mason, PhD
Abstract
Facility design has been identified as a factor resulting in improved patient safety and quality care regarding patient movement, patient visibility, and standardized caregiving (Reiling et al., 2004). Despite research indicating violence towards healthcare workers (HCWs) can be improved through facility design changes (Catlette, 2005; Gates, 2004), there is very little literature examining the relationship between hospital design characteristics and the perception of HCW’s safety (Peek-Asa et al., 2007). The objective of this research is to understand the impact of emergency department (ED) facility design on the HCW’s perception of patient safety, their own safety, and workplace efficiency (i.e., their ability to do their best work). A survey was designed and conducted to understand HCW’s perception of the facility design within the ED with respect to patient safety, healthcare worker safety, and efficiency. The results of this study indicate design features perceived to be most influential when treating specific patient types vary between patient safety, employee safety, and efficiency. Grades given to two different facility designed areas within the ED showed variation between the areas with respect to patient safety, employee safety, and efficiency. The results of this study show specific design features should be considered when designing a facility with respect to patient safety, employee safety, and efficiency. Identifying these differences in the specific design features and overall facility design preferred by HCWs with respect to patient safety, HCW safety, and efficiency provides insight into the opportunities of designing a facility with all the over-arching concepts in mind.
Recommended Citation
Hobbs, Mary A., "Evaluating the Impact of Emergency Department Facility Design on Healthcare Workers' Perception of Safety" (2016). All Theses. 2583.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/2583