A knowledge framework for the design of built environment supportive of resilient internal logistics in hospitals

Internal logistics is crucial for hospitals, occurring within facilities that pose constraints and opportunities, demanding resilient performance (RP) to adapt to dynamic conditions and balance safety and efficiency pressures. However, the role of the built environment (BE) to support RP is not explicitly analysed in the hospital logistics literature, which is usually limited to discuss BE in terms of layout and routing issues. To address this gap, this study presents a knowledge framework of BE supportive of RP in internal hospital logistics. The framework was developed based on a study in a large teaching hospital, encompassing 11 service flows of people and supplies between an intensive care unit and other units. Data collection was based on 38 interviews, documents such as floor plans, and observations of logistics activities. Seven BE design principles developed in a previous study, concerned with RP in general but not focused on logistics, were adopted as initial themes for data analysis. Results of the thematic analysis gave rise to a knowledge framework composed of seven design prescriptions and 63 practical examples of BE supportive of RP in hospital internal logistics. The paper discusses how these prescriptions and examples are connected to resilience management. The framework is new in the context of internal hospital logistics and offers guidance to both BE and logistics designers.

Strategies to improve care for older adults who present to the emergency department: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The aim of this systematic review was to examine the relationship between strategies to improve care delivery for older adults in ED and evaluation measures of patient outcomes, patient experience, staff experience, and system performance.

METHODS

A systematic review of English language studies published since inception to December 2022, available from CINAHL, Embase, Medline, and Scopus was conducted. Studies were reviewed by pairs of independent reviewers and included if they met the following criteria: participant mean age of ≥ 65 years; ED setting or directly influenced provision of care in the ED; reported on improvement interventions and strategies; reported patient outcomes, patient experience, staff experience, or system performance. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed by pairs of independent reviewers using The Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. Data were synthesised using a hermeneutic approach.

RESULTS

Seventy-six studies were included in the review, incorporating strategies for comprehensive assessment and multi-faceted care (n = 32), targeted care such as management of falls risk, functional decline, or pain management (n = 27), medication safety (n = 5), and trauma care (n = 12). We found a misalignment between comprehensive care delivered in ED for older adults and ED performance measures oriented to rapid assessment and referral. Eight (10.4%) studies reported patient experience and five (6.5%) reported staff experience.

CONCLUSION

It is crucial that future strategies to improve care delivery in ED align the needs of older adults with the purpose of the ED system to ensure sustainable improvement effort and critical functioning of the ED as an interdependent component of the health system. Staff and patient input at the design stage may advance prioritisation of higher-impact interventions aligned with the pace of change and illuminate experience measures. More consistent reporting of interventions would inform important contextual factors and allow for replication.

Strategies to Improve Care in the Emergency Department for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Adults: a Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

The emergency department (ED) is an important gateway into the health system for people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds; their experience in the ED is likely to impact the way they access care in the future. Our review aimed to describe interventions used to improve ED health care delivery for adults from a CALD background.

METHODS

An electronic search of four databases was conducted to identify empirical studies that reported interventions with a primary focus of improving ED care for CALD adults (aged ≥ 18 years), with measures relating to ED system performance, patient outcomes, patient experience, or staff experience. Studies published from inception to November 2022 were included. We excluded non-empirical studies, studies where an intervention was not provided in ED, papers where the full text was unavailable, or papers published in a language other than English. The intervention strategies were categorised thematically, and measures were tabulated.

RESULTS

Following the screening of 3654 abstracts, 89 articles underwent full text review; 16 articles met the inclusion criteria. Four clear strategies for targeting action tailored to the CALD population of interest were identified: improving self-management of health issues, improving communication between patients and providers, adhering to good clinical practice, and building health workforce capacity.

CONCLUSIONS

The four strategies identified provide a useful framework for targeted action tailored to the population and outcome of interest. These detailed examples show how intervention design must consider intersecting socio-economic barriers, so as not to perpetuate existing disparity.

REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022379584.

Experience-based codesign approach to improve care in Australian emergency departments for complex consumer cohorts: the MyED project protocol, Stages 1.1-1.3

INTRODUCTION

Emergency department (ED) care must adapt to meet current and future demands. In Australia, ED quality measures (eg, prolonged length of stay, re-presentations or patient experience) are worse for older adults with multiple comorbidities, people who have a disability, those who present with a mental health condition, Indigenous Australians, and those with a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background. Strengthened ED performance relies on understanding the social and systemic barriers and preferences for care of these different cohorts, and identifying viable solutions that may result in sustained improvement by service providers. A collaborative 5-year project (MyED) aims to codesign, with ED users and providers, new or adapted models of care that improve ED performance, improve patient outcomes and improve patient experience for these five cohorts.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Experience-based codesign using mixed methods, set in three hospitals in one health district in Australia. This protocol introduces the staged and incremental approach to the whole project, and details the first research elements: ethnographic observations at the ED care interface, interviews with providers and interviews with two patient cohorts-older adults and adults with a CALD background. We aim to sample a diverse range of participants, carefully tailoring recruitment and support.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethics approval has been obtained from the Western Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (2022/PID02749-2022/ETH02447). Prior informed written consent will be obtained from all research participants. Findings from each stage of the project will be submitted for peer-reviewed publication. Project outputs will be disseminated for implementation more widely across New South Wales, Australia.

The Built Environment Influence on Resilient Healthcare: A Systematic Literature Review of Design Knowledge

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to develop built environment (BE) design knowledge to support resilient healthcare by systematically reviewing the evidence-based design (EBD) literature.

BACKGROUND

Although the EBD literature is vast, it has not made explicit its contribution to resilient healthcare, which is a key component of the highly complex health service.

METHOD

This review followed the steps recommended by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses method. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 43 journal papers were selected. The papers were analyzed in light of five guidelines for coping with complexity, allowing for the development of BE design knowledge that supports resilient healthcare.

RESULTS

The design knowledge compiled by the review was structured according to four levels of abstraction: five design-meta principles, corresponding to the five complexity guidelines, seven design principles, 21 design prescriptions, and 58 practical examples. The design knowledge emphasizes the interactions between the BE as physical infrastructure and the functions that it supports.

CONCLUSIONS

The design knowledge is expected to be useful not only to architects but also to those involved in the functional design of health services as they interact with the BE. Furthermore, our proposal provides a knowledge template that can be continuously updated based on the experience of practitioners and academic research.

Integrated modelling of built environment and functional requirements: Implications for resilience

The built environment is a core part of most healthcare systems, involving a number of requirements such as those related to space and patients' well-being. However, these are usually addressed separately from other functional requirements, resulting in designs that do not support resilient performance. This study proposes a framework for the integrated modelling of built environment and other functional requirements, relying on two approaches: Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM), and Building Information Modelling (BIM). Requirements are defined as equivalent to the precondition aspect of FRAM functions. BIM allows the creation of a database of requirements and functions, linked to an object-oriented model of the built environment. The proposed framework was devised and tested in an intensive care unit. Findings shed light on the necessary resilience to cope with the gap between built environment-as-imagined in design and built environment-as-done due to performance adjustments. This type of resilience may have a long-lasting nature, as many built environment attributes cannot be easily changed.