Windowness and Human Behavior in the Hospital Rehabilitation Environment.

Abstract

In hospitals, patients and staff are increasingly subjected to poorly windowed rooms. Six Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Units in Chicago served as the research settings for a study of well-being as a function of personal factors and the basic functions of the window. Subjects numbered 150 and 125, respectively, for staff and patients. Using multidimensional scaling twenty cognitive dimensions of windowness were identified. Dimensions that address meaningful views, daylighting, and access to nature are highly desired. The dimensions that address windowless spaces were least preferred. The second half of the study explored well-being as a function of personal characteristics and six functions of the window of most direct consequence in rehabilitation. Certain types of patients were found to be susceptible to the effects of windowness. Close proximity to apertures that afford interesting view information, as facilitated by sufficiently low sills to afford perceptual access, is of high priority in terms of patient well-being. Patients, in general, are much more susceptible than hospital staff to the effects of insufficient involvement with the six window functions studies. By contrast, staff are better-equipped to engage in adequate compensatory measures to counter the informational deficiencies associated with poorly windowed working conditions. The findings have implications in terms of fundamental form determinants in the design of health care environments, including facility siting, scale, configuration, fenestration, and the location of internal units. Design recommendations address the informational affordances of windows in rehabilitation. Study limitations and areas warranting further investigation are discussed.