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Bakgrund: Den fysiska miljön har betydelse för människors hälsa och välbefinnande. Rehabilitering som påbörjas på strokeenheter i ett tidigt skede, kan förbättra återhämtning och minska risken för funktionshinder. Hur den fysiska miljön på en strokeenhet ska vara utformad för att utgöra ett stöd för patientens aktiviteter och vård är i begränsad omfattning studerat. Vidare är kunskapen begränsad gällande hur utformningen av den fysiska miljön kan påverka det multidisciplinära teamets arbete på en strokeenhet.

Syfte: Det övergripande syftet var att generera kunskap om den fysiska miljön på strokeenheter och den komplexa relationen mellan utformningen av miljön, vården och användarens erfarenhet av den fysiska miljön.

Metod: Avhandlingen baserades på fyra delstudier. Delstudierna hade en beskrivande och explorativ design. Tre nybyggda strokeenheter studerades, varav en strokeenhet följdes från den ursprungliga, via den temporära till den nybyggda enheten. I delstudie I, II och IV användes strukturerade observationer för att dokumentera patientens aktivitetsnivå, det fysiska rummet för aktiviteten, samt vilken eller vilka personer som var med patienten i rummet. I delstudie I, II och IV användes även icke-strukturerade observationer. De icke-strukturerade observationerna syftade till att utforska stöd och hinder i den fysiska miljön för patienter och det multidisciplinära teamet. För delstudie III användes en kvalitativ metod som med hjälp av intervjuer syftade till att studera patienternas erfarenheter av den fysiska miljön.

Resultat: Delstudie I visade att på den nybyggda strokeenheten tillbringade patienterna mer tid på sina rum, hade lägre aktivitetsnivå och hade färre interaktioner med personal och anhöriga, än på den gamla strokeenheten. Förändringar av den fysiska miljön kan ha påverkat patienternas aktiviteter och interaktioner. Delstudie II visade att strokeenheterna skilde sig åt gällande patienternas aktivitetsnivå och proportion av dagen som patienterna var ensamma på sina rum. Patienterna hade högre aktivitetsnivå på en strokeenhet med en kombination av enkelrum och flerbäddsrum jämfört med en strokeenhet med uteslutande enkelrum. En flexibel, lättorienterad och omväxlande miljö utgjorde ett stöd för vård och aktiviteter. I delstudie III framkom två teman: (i) inkongruens mellan gemenskap och avskildhet och (ii) förbindelse med världen utanför ger distraktion och en känsla av normaltillstånd. I enkelrummen upplevde patienterna ensamhet och en frånvaro av social gemenskap. Patienterna blev positivt distraherade när de tittade på natur eller på aktiviteter som fortgick utanför deras fönster. Delstudie IV visade att det multidisciplinära teamet inte arbetade tillsammans i mötet med patienten. Vidare framkom i resultatet olika stöd och hinder i den fysisk miljö som påverkade teamets aktiviteter, exempelvis hinder i form av en fysiskt uppdelad miljö för teamet.

Konklusion: Denna avhandling har bidragit till att öka förståelsen och kunskapen om den fysiska miljön på strokeenheter. Att använda ett evidensbaserat kunskapsunderlag när det gäller planering och design av nya strokeenheter är centralt. Den fysiska miljön kan vara ett stöd både för den person som insjuknat i en stroke och för det multidisciplinära teamet. Den fysiska miljön bör utformas för att minska inaktiviteten och upplevelsen av ensamhet, samt bidra till att det multidisciplinära teamet har lämpliga lokaler där teamet kan arbeta tillsammans.

We present a review of the concept of design quality in healthcare. The aim of review was to define the concept of design quality in order to be able to operationalize the concept for future research. In recent years, several studies have shown that the design of the physical environment affects the patient's health and wellbeing and how different models of care can be implemented, for example, person-centered care. Design quality in architecture has long been the subject for theoretical discussion. From the Roman architect Vitruvius to contemporary design quality following tangible and intangible properties such as utility, durability and beauty. In dictionaries, the general design quality is described as a standard for something when it is compared to other things; how good or bad something is to be of good / bad / the highest quality. Design quality can be described as a measure of a high standard, a plan or an intention of design in the way that it will work and look like. However, until recently, the meaning of design quality in healthcare has been vague and merely described as a subjective experience of the environment. In order to be useful the concept need to be connected to quality indicators of healthcare. In this presentation, we discuss the concept of design quality and its relation to evidence-based design i.e. design decisions based on the best available results from credible research and evaluation of completed building projects.

Background The overall issue for the health sector during the coming century will be the climate change and its implication for human health. We argue that awareness of nurse’s experience and knowledge in climate and environmental issues is a crucial question for the health sector and their leadership in the process with a sustainable development.

Aim The aim of this study was to explore nurse’s experience and knowledge of climate and environmental issues in relation to a health perspective and how nurses can contribute to the process of sustainable development.

Method/design The study was conducted as an interview study with qualitative approach. Eight individual and two focus groups with registered nurses who represented hospitals, primary care and emergency medical services participated in the study and were analyzed with content analysis.

Result One of the results that appeared in the study showed that there is a sense of responsibility to work on climate and environmental issues, but this is overshadowed by care task in daily work at the clinic.

Conclusion The leadership has an enormously important role to integrate climate and environmental change issues in their daily work. The leadership needs to avoid that the question of sustainability becomes an imposition to be made after all other work. This study has shown the importance of knowledge concerning climate and environmental issues in the health sector and the importance of knowledge about a sustainable development within leadership.

Aim. The aim of this study was to describe, explore and explain the concept of sustainability in nursing.

Background. Although researchers in nursing and medicine have emphasised the issue of sustainability and health, the concept of sustainability in nursing is undefined and poorly researched. A need exists for theoretical and empirical studies of sustainability in nursing.

Design. Concept analysis as developed by Walker and Avant.

Method. Data were derived from dictionaries, international healthcare organisations and literature searches in the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases. Inclusive years for the search ranged from 1990 to 2012. A total of fourteen articles were found that referred to sustainability in nursing.

Results. Sustainability in nursing involves six defining attributes: ecology, environment, future, globalism, holism and maintenance. Antecedents of sustainability require climate change, environmental impact and awareness, confidence in the future, responsibility and a willingness to change. Consequences of sustainability in nursing include education in the areas of ecology, environment and sustainable development as well as sustainability as a part of nursing academic programs and in the description of the academic subject of nursing. Sustainability should also be part of national and international healthcare organisations. The concept was clarified herein by giving it a definition.

Conclusion. Sustainability in nursing was explored and found to contribute to sustainable development, with the ultimate goal of maintaining an environment that does not harm current and future generations' opportunities for good health. This concept analysis provides recommendations for the healthcare sector to incorporate sustainability and provides recommendations for future research.

BACKGROUND: It is important to map the clinical competence of newly graduated nurses in Nordic countries. The use of a common Nordic instrument could provide insights into nurses' levels of self-assessed clinical competence and perceptions of their need for professional development.

AIM: To translate and culturally adapt the original Norwegian version of the Professional Nurse Self-Assessment Scale II (PROFFNurse SAS II) into (1) Danish, (2) Finnish and (3) Icelandic versions.

METHOD: The PROFFNurse SAS II was translated and cross-culturally adapted. This translation was inspired by the process used in the Guidelines for Cross-Cultural Adaptation.

RESULT: The translation and cultural adaptation processes employed the required steps and provided specific details. In addition, practical issues encountered during the translation process while translating and adapting instruments that may influence future translations were revealed. This study found that having a professional bilingual/bicultural agency translator was partly problematic in the process of translation and found that it is important to adjust the translations to each country's specific words used in nursing.

CONCLUSION: Translating the PROFFNurse SAS II instrument into all Nordic languages enables us to use the instrument from a Nordic perspective and across various countries. This is important when comparing self-awareness and reflecting on nurses' clinical competencies. Professional development is central to valuing and developing clinical competence and allowing for the discovery of gaps in clinical competence.

Objective:

We explored the concept of design quality in relation to healthcare environments. In addition, we present a taxonomy that illustrates the wide range of terms used in connection with design quality in healthcare.

Background:

High-quality physical environments can promote health and well-being. Developments in healthcare technology and methodology put high demands on the design quality of care environments, coupled with increasing expectations and demands from patients and staff that care environments be person centered, welcoming, and accessible while also supporting privacy and security. In addition, there are demands that decisions about the design of healthcare architecture be based on the best available information from credible research and the evaluation of existing building projects.

Method:

The basic principles of Arksey and O’Malley’s model of scoping review design were used. Data were derived from literature searches in scientific databases. A total of 18 articles and books were found that referred to design quality in a healthcare context.

Results:

Design quality of physical healthcare environments involves three different themes: (i) environmental sustainability and ecological values, (ii) social and cultural interactions and values, and (iii) resilience of the engineering and building construction. Design quality was clarified herein with a definition.

Conclusions:

Awareness of what is considered design quality in relation to healthcare architecture could help to design healthcare environments based on evidence. To operationalize the concept, its definition must be clear and explicit and able to meet the complex needs of the stakeholders in a healthcare context, including patients, staff, and significant others.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with stroke rehabilitated in an enriched environment (EE) compared to a non-EE are more likely to participate in cognitive and social activities, promoting their rehabilitation and well-being. There is a need for a more comprehensive understanding of methods to implement EEs within complex health systems, particularly in stroke units.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review was to compile the concept of an EE in stroke units.

METHODS: The literature was sourced from CINAHL, Embase, and Medline databases. A detailed screening and sifting process was used to identify relevant literature. Multiple reviewers independently appraised the identified literature using a Mixed-methods Appraisal Tool. After screening 336 studies, 11 were included.

RESULTS: This review reveals an EE is challenging to define and almost exclusively about activities based on access to individual and communal equipment. Generally, there are no common descriptions or conceptual agreements.

CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically review the concept of an EE in stroke units and shows that more studies on EEs are needed. The weak definitions and unclear theoretical backgrounds of an EE in the included studies could challenge operationalization. Future research should be based on more precise definitions of an EE and broader interventions that include changes to built and natural environments.

Background: The design of the physical environment is a critical factor in patient care and is known to influence health, well-being, clinical efficiency, and health-related outcomes. To date, there has been no general review of the physical environment of modern Swedish stroke units.

Aim: To explore the physical environment of inpatient stroke units in Sweden and describe the design and structure of these units. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Data were collected in Sweden from April to July 2021 via a survey questionnaire.

Results: The layout of the stroke units varied broadly, such as the number of single-bed and multi-bed rooms. More than half the stroke units comprised spaces for rehabilitation and had an enriched environment in the form of communal areas with access to computers, games, books, newspapers, and meeting places. However, they offered sparse access to plants and/or scenery.

Conclusions: Healthcare environments are an essential component of a sustainable community. From a sustainability perspective, healthcare facilities must be built with high architectural quality and from a long-term perspective. Research on the physical environment in healthcare should contribute to improved quality of care, which can be achieved through building healthcare facilities that support the performance of care and recovery. Therefore, mapping of areas of interest for further investigation is crucial.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore nurses' perceptions of climate and environmental issues and examine how nurses perceive their role in contributing to the process of sustainable development. 

Background: Climate change and its implications for human health represent an increasingly important issue for the healthcare sector. According to the International Council of Nurses Code of Ethics, nurses have a responsibility to be involved and support climate change mitigation and adaptation to protect human health. 

Design: This is a descriptive, explorative qualitative study. 

Methods: Nurses (n=18) were recruited from hospitals, primary care and emergency medical services; eight participated in semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews and 10 participated in two focus groups. Data were collected from April-October 2013 in Sweden; interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis. 

Results: Two main themes were identified from the interviews: (i) an incongruence between climate and environmental issues and nurses' daily work; and (ii) public health work is regarded as a health co-benefit of climate change mitigation. While being green is not the primary task in a lifesaving, hectic and economically challenging context, nurses' perceived their profession as entailing responsibility, opportunities and a sense of individual commitment to influence the environment in a positive direction. 

Conclusions: This study argues there is a need for increased awareness of issues and methods that are crucial for the healthcare sector to respond to climate change. Efforts to develop interventions should explore how nurses should be able to contribute to the healthcare sector's preparedness for and contributions to sustainable development.

BACKGROUND: Climate change is described as the biggest global challenge for human health in the upcoming decade. Nurses play a central role in mitigating the effect of climate change on the healthcare sector and adapting to the phenomenon. Therefore, nursing students must be prepared for a new professional role keeping climate change in mind; consequently, it is important to study students' perceptions of climate change and sustainability.

OBJECTIVES: To explore nursing students' perceptions of climate change and sustainability and examine how they perceive their role as nursing students in working towards a more sustainable development within the healthcare sector.

DESIGN: It is a qualitative, descriptive exploratory study.

SETTINGS: A nursing program at a university in central Sweden.

PARTICIPANTS: Nursing students.

METHODS: Individual in-depth interviews and one group interview were conducted for the study.

RESULTS: The main findings revealed that students saw themselves living in a mismatched discourse. They perceived the future of humanity as gloomy but thought that sustainability is the society's joint obligation to achieve the right to a good life for all people equally.

CONCLUSIONS: Nursing students perceived themselves as important actors in the work of climate change and sustainability. Thus, nursing education needs to integrate the impact of climate change on healthcare and promote sustainability into the curriculum for preparing students to take responsibility for sustainability in society.

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of this study was to explore patients' experiences of the physical environment at a newly built stroke unit.

BACKGROUND:

For a person who survives a stroke, life can change dramatically. The physical environment is essential for patients' health and well-being. To reduce infections, a majority of new healthcare facilities mainly have a single-room design. However, in the context of stroke care, knowledge of how patients experience the physical environment, particularly their experience of a single-room design, is scarce.

METHOD:

This study used a qualitative design. Patients ( n = 16) participated in semistructured individual interviews. Data were collected in December 2015 and February 2017 in Sweden; interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using content analysis.

RESULTS:

Two main themes were identified: (i) incongruence exists between community and privacy and (ii) connectedness with the outside world provides distraction and a sense of normality. In single rooms, social support was absent and a sense of loneliness was expressed. Patients were positively distracted when they looked at nature or activities that went on outside their windows.

CONCLUSIONS:

The physical environment is significant for patients with stroke. This study highlights potential areas for architectural improvements in stroke units, primarily around designing communal areas with meeting places and providing opportunities to participate in the world outside the unit. A future challenge is to design stroke units that support both community and privacy. Exploring patients' experiences could be a starting point when designing new healthcare environments and inform evidence-based design.

Early mobilization and rehabilitation, multidisciplinary stroke expertise and comprehensive therapies are fundamental in a stroke unit. To achieve effective and safe stroke care, the physical environment in modern stroke units should facilitate the delivery of evidence-based care. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore patients’ activities and interactions in a stroke unit before the reconstruction of the physical environment, while in a temporary location and after reconstruction. This case study examined a stroke unit as an integrated whole. The data were collected using a behavioral mapping technique at three different time points: in the original unit, in the temporary unit and in the new unit. A total of 59 patients were included. The analysis included field notes from observations of the physical environment and examples from planning and design documents. The findings indicated that in the new unit, the patients spent more time in their rooms, were less active, and had fewer interactions with staff and family than the patients in the original unit. The reconstruction involved a change from a primarily multi-bed room design to single-room accommodations. In the new unit, the patients’ lounge was located in a far corner of the unit with a smaller entrance than the patients’ lounge in the old unit, which was located at the end of a corridor with a noticeable entrance. Changes in the design of the stroke unit may have influenced the patients’ activities and interactions. This study raises the question of how the physical environment should be designed in the future to facilitate the delivery of health care and improve outcomes for stroke patients. This research is based on a case study, and although the results should be interpreted with caution, we strongly recommend that environmental considerations be included in future stroke guidelines.

AIM: To explore and compare the impact of the physical environment on patients' activities and care at three newly built stroke units.

BACKGROUND: Receiving care in a stroke unit instead of in a general ward reduces the odds of death, dependency and institutionalized care. In stroke units, the design of the physical environment should support evidence-based care. Studies on patients' activities in relation to the design of the physical environment of stroke units are scarce.

DESIGN: This work is a comparative descriptive case study.

METHOD: Patients (N=55) who had a confirmed diagnosis of stroke were recruited from three newly built stroke units in Sweden. The units were examined by non-participant observation using two types of data collection: behavioral mapping analyzed with descriptive statistics and field note taking analyzed with deductive content analysis. Data were collected from April 2013 - December 2015.

RESULTS: The units differed in the patients' levels of physical activity, the proportion of the day that patients spent with health professionals and family presence. Patients were more physically active in a unit with a combination of single and multi-bed room designs than in a unit with an entirely single room design. Stroke units that were easy to navigate and offered variations in the physical environment had an impact on patients' activities and care.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients' activity levels and interactions appeared to vary with the design of the physical environments of stroke units. Stroke guidelines focused on health status assessments, avoidance of bed-rest and early rehabilitation require a supportive physical environment. 

Background: Delivering health care negatively influ-ences the environment and contributes to climate change. This study examined how nursing students in England and Sweden can make changes in clinical practice to enhance environmental sustainability. Method: Third-year under-graduate nursing students at English and Swedish universities responded to open-ended questions on the Sustainability Attitudes in Nursing Survey. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Results: Students in both countries identified lack of confidence as the main barrier to challenging unsustainable practice, followed by a resistance to change in practice. English students predominantly changed their own behavior or influenced the practice of others. Swedish students either changed their own behavior or their own attitudes to sustainability. Conclusion:There is a need to ensure students have confidence to act as change agents to enhance sustainable practice in the clinical environment.

Aim This review will identify, evaluate and synthesize the literature related to evidence-based design of healthcare environments and to identify impacts of the built environment on the outcomes and experiences of patients, significant others and staff. Design A mixed-method systematic review of literature 2010-2018. Methods Database searches for evidence in peer-reviewed journals will be conducted electronically using CINAHL, Medline, SCOPUS and Web of Science. , full-text screening and data extraction will be completed independently by the reviewers. Quality assessment will follow Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Social Services Assessment. Results This review will offer knowledge for informed decisions about the design of the healthcare environment. The review is comprehensive, includes a large volume of literature various research designs and will highlight the knowledge gap in evidence-based design and provide a breadth of knowledge about the built environments and its impact on health and well-being.

Aim: The aim was to investigate the content and quality of the governing documents created in the planning and design phase of new healthcare environments and in the related healthcare strategic and operational plans.

Background: Quality deficits in buildings can often be traced back to the initial stages in the planning and design phase. Although, large investments have been made to improve the process of planning new healthcare environments and linking the requirements to health service strategies, healthcare organizations rarely relate their strategy goals to the built environment.

Methods: A retrospective review of documents created in the planning and design stages of new healthcare environments and the operational plans of the target organizations was conducted.

Results: The organizational operational plans did not contain any statements or information about the built environment or how a building could or should support the organization's goals. Important information was frequently absent from the documents governing the planning and design of buildings. The documents lacked information about what and how to follow-up and what to measure once a construction project had been completed. There were no references to evidence.

Conclusions: Poor documentation might undermine the quality of the planning and design phase and ultimately the opportunity to create environments that support health outcomes. Therefore, more emphasis must be placed on the importance of documentation but above all to strengthen and clarify the relationship between the healthcare organization strategy to achieve an effective and efficient care process and the intention made in the planning and design process.

OBJECTIVE: This study utilized the evidence-gap map method and critically examined the scope, methodologies, and focus of the studies that investigated the influence of the built environment on inpatient healthcare settings over a decade (2010-2021).

METHODS: We conducted a systematic review per the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines and surveyed 406 articles, primarily from North America and Europe.

RESULTS: Our findings revealed a dominant focus on architectural features (73%), such as room design and ward layout. Comparatively, there was less emphasis on interior-, ambient-, social-, and nature-related features. Most previous studies explored multiple environmental features, which indicated the intricacy of this field. Research outcomes were diverse, with person-centered care (PCC) being the most frequently investigated, followed by safe care, emotional well-being, activity, and behavior. Furthermore, research methods varied considerably based on the study's outcomes and features. Clinical outcomes and safe care favored quantitative methods, activity and behavior favored mixed methods, and PCC favored qualitative research.

CONCLUSION: This review provides an in-depth overview of the existing studies on healthcare design research and sheds light on the current trends and methodological choices. The insights garnered can guide future research, policy-making, and the development of healthcare facilities.

Initial harmonization has been found within nursing education in the European Union member states, but with a need for the establishment of further, well-defined standards. The aim of this study was to describe and analyze the main content of nursing education expressed in national guidelines in the Nordic countries, seen as comparisons between the countries and to the European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN) Competency Framework. A qualitative deductive research method and content analysis were applied to analyze 20 documents, using the EFN Competency Framework as a theoretical framework and analysis matrix. The study was performed in line with the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) checklist. Variations in structure between the included countries was seen and evident uniformity was lacking. There were differences, e.g. the number of European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits needed for a degree that needs to be further explored in relation to the quality of education and the competence of newly qualified nurses. There is a question of whether the EU Framework corresponds to the need for nursing competencies for today and the future. Homogenization of guidelines and structures might facilitate further development and deeper collaboration between the Nordic countries, thereby leading to enhanced patient safety and care quality.

Purpose: Organized care in specialist stroke units is fundamental for achieving better outcomes for persons with stroke. Although the importance of the physical environment for health and well-being is well recognized, research regarding how environmental features can influence stroke care is limited. The aim was to elucidate healthcare professionals' experiences of the physical environment in newly built stroke units with respect to stroke care.Methods: Healthcare professionals (n = 42) representing eight professions participated in semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used.Results: The physical environment both facilitated and restricted the professionals' ability to provide stroke care. Five categories were identified: "Working towards patient engagement in single rooms", "Hampered rehabilitation in an environment not always adapted to patients' difficulties", "Addressing patients' psychosocial needs in the environment", "Ensuring patient safety by using the environment in accordance with individual needs", and "Collaboration and task fulfilment-a challenge due to care unit design".Conclusions: The healthcare professionals viewed the physical environment mainly in relation to stroke patients' specific needs, and several environmental features were considered poorly adapted to meet these needs. The physical environment is essential to high-quality care; thus, the process of planning and designing stroke units should be based on existing evidence.