healing environments in radiotherapy - Agnes van den Berg

Healing Environments in Radiotherapy Project Report
Patients, staff and decision makers may not (yet) be willing or able to engage in a process of
transformation towards a more ‘holistic’ approach to healing
A non-traditional approach can encounter problems with government and insurance
regulations
Costs may rise due to increased administration, health and malpractice insurance premiums
and reduced reimbursements
Fear of litigation can lead to increased costs and tension and may inhibit people to try a new
approach
Some implementations may have adverse effects on certain patients (e.g. daylight can have
adverse effects on people who are sensitive to ultra-violet radiation)
All these factors need consideration before deciding on whether to make design implementations to
create a healing environment. It is noteworthy however, that most known disadvantages are
concerned with rather structural or bureaucratic issues. From a moral standpoint, this should not
outweigh the significant advantages healing environments can offer in terms of health outcomes;
after all, most forms of innovation are likely to initially encounter structural ‘roadblocks’ and
negative attitudes. Hence, it is fair to say that, in general, healthcare settings should be encouraged
to implement measures towards the creation of healing environments.
2.2 Physical factors
Architecture cannot heal, but it can provide an environment that supports people in coping with
stress or other symptoms of illness (Hesta, 2008). There are several physical attributes of healthcare
environments which have been shown to influence patients as well as visitors and staff. The most
important factors are summarised below.
Lighting
In general, researchers agree that proper lighting is an important
issue and that healthcare settings should not be too dim. For
instance, it has been shown that hospital rooms with poor lighting
can alter circadian rhythms, which causes negative effects like eye
fatigue and headaches. In addition, staff will make fewer errors in
brighter surroundings (Devlin & Arneill, 2003). However, one expert
points out that light is the most important element of healing environments, and that harsh light
should be avoided because it can be very annoying for patients to look into (A. Kwint, Plants for
People).
A significant amount of literature on healing environments is concerned with a debate about the
advantages and disadvantages of natural light versus artificial light. Some kinds of artificial lighting
have been shown to be beneficial. For example, the use of ultraviolet light has been proven to
decrease blood pressure, which in turn can help to increase protein metabolism, decrease fatigue,
and increase the release of endorphins (Altimier, 2004). However, certain aspects of in-door lighting,
such as luminance level, lamp colour, and flicker have been argued to affect mood and performance
in a negative way. For instance, Knez (1995), studying the effect of luminance levels, compared the
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