The impact of the hospital environment: understanding the experience of the patient journey

A hospital visit is often an anxious and uncertain event for patients and their relatives. Patients are often concerned about a diagnosis and/or the treatment of their disease in an outpatient or inpatient setting. Knowledge regarding the influence of these settings on patients is essential for facilitating the quality of health care. It is expected that an understanding of the experience of patients will allow designers and decision-makers in hospitals to positively influence the well-being of patients.
The aim of this thesis was to gain an improved understanding about a more holistic experience and well-being of patients at specific focal points of the entire patient journey from the arrival, to the diagnosis, and to the actual treatment in a hospital. For example, results showed that patients sometimes experience difficulties in finding their way to an outpatient clinic, that images of nature during a CT scan can reduce anxiety, and that (the opportunity of) interaction with other patients is a pleasant distraction or, on the contrary, an invasion of their own privacy.

This thesis emphasizes the relations between the hospital environment and the psychosocial and physical well-being of patients. The results show that it is of great importance to listen carefully to patients’ experiences and needs when designing a hospital as many of the results showed individual differences with patients that emphasize that one size does not fit all. The well-being of patients in future hospitals can be improved by aligning the hospital environment with individual patient characteristics, needs, and preferences.