healing environments in radiotherapy - Agnes van den Berg

Healing Environments in Radiotherapy Project Report
“A healing environment needs nature. If real nature can’t be there it should be simulated” (A. Kwint,
Plants for People). G. van Lagen from Casa Terra agrees; “if there are no windows, offer people a
view of a nature image or for example an aquarium with fish and plants. Preferably there should be a
dog or cat walking around or birds in a aviary.” The Care Hotel for Young Cancer Patients report also
states that hospitals should feature some kind of water attraction, as the sound of water can be
calming for patients (Hesta, 2008). Bronson Methodist Hospital, for example, provides bubbling
fountains to create the calming sounds of water (Cassidy, 2003). Below is a picture of the aquarium in
one of the waiting areas at the target hospital (figure 17).
Figure 16: Aquarium at the target hospital
However, placing living plants, pets, aquaria or fountains in hospital environments, especially in
treatment areas, is sometimes impossible for hygienic reasons. However, A. Kwint from Plants for
People refers to research that found that plants in hospitals do not lead to the feared increase in
microorganisms in the air which is sometimes cited as a health concern in regards to indoor plants in
hospitals. On the contrary, plants actually extract pollution from the air. Hence, he argues, it is safe
to use plants in hospital settings, as long as care is taken to avoid plants that are a common allergen
(A. Kwint, Plants for People). Nevertheless, hospital hygienists are often unwilling to risk infections or
allergic reactions caused by plants. However, Van den Berg (2005) points out that there is substantial
evidence to show that images of nature on screen or on pictures can also promote relief from stress
and pain. For example, a study by Ulrich, Simons & Miles (2003) showed that blood donors had lower
blood pressure and pulse on days when a wall mounted television displayed a videotape of natural
settings (a park and a stream) in the waiting room, compared to days when the television displayed a
videotape of urban settings (a commercial street and shopping mall). Parson et al. (1998), conducted
an experiment in which 160 students viewed one of four different nature dominated video-tapes
while stress levels were measured in terms of elevated blood pressure and electro-dermal activity.
Result showed that participants who viewed nature dominated videos showed quicker recovery from
stress. Another video study by Tse et al. (2002) investigated 46 healthy volunteers who were
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