Influence of the built environment on the nursing work environment and patient satisfaction in general wards in acute hospitals.
Project Duration
2026 - 2030
Description
Research on the nursing work environment consistently demonstrates its influence on nurse wellbeing and nurse-sensitive patient outcomes, yet this evidence focuses almost exclusively on organisational and psychosocial dimensions. The physical spaces in which care is delivered remain largely unexamined. In design sciences, evidence-based design-research has mostly addressed how the built environment affects patient wellbeing, with little attention to nursing staff and their work processes.
This doctoral project connects nursing and architectural design sciences to investigate how specific elements of the built environment of general hospital wards (spatial layout, visibility, proximity of key facilities, workstation design, ergonomics) shape the nursing work environment and patient satisfaction.
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Supervisors
- Filip Haegdorens (CRIC - UAntwerp)
- Margo Annemans (Research Group Architecture + Interior, Faculty of Design Sciences - UAntwerp)
Doctoral Researcher
An-Sofie Verhoeven
Funding
BOF-ZF Doctoral Scholarship