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Healing architecture and Snoezelen in delivery room design: a qualitative study of women's birth experiences and patient-centeredness of care
- Source :
- BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, Vol 20, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2020), Nielsen, J H & Overgaard, C 2020, ' Healing architecture and Snoezelen in delivery room design : a qualitative study of women’s birth experiences and patient-centeredness of care ', BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, vol. 20, no. 1, 283 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-020-02983-z
- Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- Background The physical place and environment has a profound influence on experiences, health and wellbeing of birthing women. An alternatively designed delivery room, inspired by the principles of healing architecture and Snoezelen, was established in the Regional Hospital in Herning, Denmark. These principles provided knowledge of how building and interior design affects the senses, including users’ pain experience and stress levels. The aim of the study was to explore women’s experience of the environment and its ability to support the concept of patient-centeredness in the care of birthing women. Methods Applying a hermeneutical-phenomenological methodology, fourteen semi-structured interviews with low-risk women giving birth in an alternative delivery room at an obstetric unit in Denmark were undertaken 3–7 weeks after birth. Results Overall, women’s experiences of given birth in the alternative delivery room were positive. Our analysis suggests that the environment was well adapted to the women’s needs, as it offered a stress- and anxiety-reducing transition to the hospital setting, at the same time as it helped them obtain physical comfort. The environment also signaled respect for the family’s needs as it supported physical and emotional interaction between the woman and her partner and helped relieve her concern for the partner’s well-being. The psychosocial support provided by the midwives appeared inseparable from the alternative delivery room, as both affected, amplified, and occasionally restricted the women’s experience of the physical environment. Conclusion Our findings support the use of principles of healing architecture and Snoezelen in birth environments and add to the evidence on how the physical design of hospital environments influence on both social and physical aspects of the well-being of patients. The environment appeared to encompass several dimensions of the concept of patient-centered care.
- Subjects :
- Semi-structured interview
Adult
medicine.medical_specialty
Patient-centered care
Denmark
Reproductive medicine
Mothers
Semi-structured interviews
Midwifery
Hospital design
lcsh:Gynecology and obstetrics
Unit (housing)
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
0302 clinical medicine
Nursing
Pregnancy
Medicine
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Architecture
lcsh:RG1-991
Qualitative Research
Interior design
030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine
business.industry
Snoezelen
Delivery Rooms
Delivery room
Parturition
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Qualitative methods
Delivery, Obstetric
Birth experience
Environment Design
Female
Birth environment
business
Qualitative research
Research Article
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14712393
- Volume :
- 20
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- BMC pregnancy and childbirth
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....9945e97f0c85b2fa1376782d66eb423c