Studies in health technology and informatics最新文献

Due to traditional family values, older individuals tend to prefer aging within the community and home rather than in nursing homes. According to the World Report on Ageing and Health, the aged-care environment significantly influences healthy aging. Recently, there has been a growing trend to integrate various functions and resources into community centers for older citizens in the Chinese context. However, the design of community senior centers, as crucial environmental support for healthy aging within the community, requires further exploration. This study aims to explore the applicability of healthy aging in the Chinese community context through case studies of community senior centers. A comparative case study approach was employed, utilizing observation, interviews, and document analysis based on themes generated from the literature review. This research supplements the healthy aging model by analyzing practical and experience-based cases. The study identifies eight domains and twenty-three sub-domains of healthy aging in the community from a holistic health perspective. These domains include Care and Treatment, Rehabilitation, Prevention, Protection, Behavior, Perceived Health, Engagement, and Inclusion. The findings contribute to the exploration of the definition of healthy aging and provide design inspiration for localized community senior centers.

As an architect, I felt a strong moral urge to engage in research aimed at creating more human-centred healthcare environments, particularly in the context of palliative care. Being relatively new to this field 4 years ago, my primary goal then was to develop a deep understanding of these unique contexts, with a special focus on the people involved. To achieve this, I embarked on an immersive ethnographic study over the last few years, involving participant observations in three distinct palliative environments (i.e., day-care centre, hospice, and palliative care unit) and interviews with residents, family members, caregivers, volunteers, and maintenance staff. While preparing to present this study to an ethics panel, I believed I had covered all possible questions until I was unexpectedly asked, "How will you consider your own emotional well-being?" At that moment (in the 1st year of my PhD trajectory), I was unsure how to respond, but today (in the 4th year of my PhD), I would say that my approach was to verbally and visually document the entirety of the experience, including the positive, negative, and challenging aspects. Throughout my journey, I maintained a journal not only to express my thoughts and feelings but also to capture the methodological and ethical insights I had gained while conducting interdisciplinary research on the spatial experiences of individuals within palliative environments. This article serves as a comprehensive overview of all significant events preceding, during, and following the study. The insights were organised according to 'the good, the bad, and the ugly' to shed light on the complexities and nuances of conducting research in this unique and sensitive domain. In doing so, the aim of my contribution is to inspire novice researchers to embark on such research studies and offer them guidance along this undoubtedly beautiful yet occasionally challenging journey.

Ageing societies are facing major housing challenges. Understanding and addressing older adults' diverse housing needs and preferences are crucial. Having access to suitable and sustainable housing options can improve social cohesion, independence, health, and well-being. Participatory processes in housing development can enhance inclusion and democratic participation. This study uses Ramlösa Port (RP) - an ongoing housing development project of multi-family housing with mixed forms of tenure - as a case to increase the understanding of community involvement and general housing needs and preferences of older adults. The RP will consist of 100 rental apartments, 120 condominiums, and 30 comfort-housing units. The latter is dedicated to older adults. Two researchers, from the fields of arts and sciences of design and health, participated as ongoing evaluators in three workshops together with four staff from the housing developer Lansa Fastigheter (LF), and nine potential RP residents aged 60 years or older. The advantages and disadvantages of placing LFs comfort-housing units in a few separate stairwells or integrating them in the mixed-tenure residential area were identified. Meaningful activities and important housing accessibility and usability issues from the perspective of older adults were elicited. The post-workshop feedback includes the perceptions of both older adults and LF staff, which broadens the understanding and provides future opportunities. There is potential for innovative housing solutions like the RP, promoting health and well-being in shared residential areas.

About 15% of the global population is considered neurodivergent (having different ways of sensory processing than what are perceived as neurotypical persons). Persons with neurodivergence typically include those with autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Down Syndrome. Studies have shown that many neurodivergent persons experience sensory processing disorder (SPD). Noise, lighting, temperature, and aesthetics are some factors that can significantly impact the quality of interaction with the built environment for these individuals. A significantly lower proportion of youths with SPD enter higher educational institutions (HEI), hindered in part by physical design on university campuses. Universities in Canada are now mandated to address barriers in the campus environments for persons with disability. However, space design needs of neurodivergent students are often overlooked. We interviewed eight neurodivergent persons with SPD (NPSPD) about their experiences as students navigating a university campus located in Halifax, Canada. We asked what specific spaces on campus pose barriers to them (to enter, traverse, and use), and how the design should be improved. The participant responses revealed many elements on campus that act as barriers-largely consistent with existing literature. However, the participants' comments illustrated more complex dynamics of these factors, which can exacerbate their stress and anxiety. Oftentimes, barriers are more to do with lack of information about the characteristics of the space prior to using it, which would otherwise allow students to plan ahead their journey to destinations and use of given spaces. A wayfinding aid that informs what to expect in spaces or pathways on campus would be a potential area for innovation, along with multiple services to comprehensively and flexibly cater to individual needs to alleviate sensory overload. Ongoing communications about barriers across campus by all users of the university campus would facilitate implementation of pragmatic solutions needed to address diverse needs existing in HEI.

Construction is the main cause for global raw material extraction, and a key source of greenhouse gas emissions. Through the increasing consumption of resources, it is driving us beyond the planetary boundaries. We argue that in this light, the connection of the environmental impacts of new buildings and the symptoms of eco-anxiety among their designers, builders, users, and funders needs investigation and discussion.Art, culture, and rituals have been proposed as means to process and cope with difficult eco-emotions, including anxiety. Architecture is an important part of culture, oftentimes defined as, or including aspects of art, and can have symbolic meanings. Hence, it may also hold potential for dealing with difficult feelings, through e.g., memorial places. More importantly, however, regenerative, and emphatic architecture could support a shift of values away from an environmentally harmful construction culture towards building within planetary boundaries. This requires defining architecture from a new perspective, acknowledging its role in causing friction between values and acting thus as a driver for the ensuing predominantly negative emotions such as environmental anxiety. Design choices or architecture do not, however, need to be antithetical to environmental awareness, on the contrary. In this article, we present and discuss the dual role of architecture in relation to eco-anxiety. On one hand, architecture drives the consumption of resources, which causes significant environmental damage, and may hence spur difficult eco-emotions. On the other hand, architecture could be used for mitigating resource consumption as well as for offering re-evaluation of our construction culture, which is destructive for the wellbeing of our planet. Architecture could also create spaces where people are able to engage constructively with eco-emotions. Overall, we argue that architecture needs stronger value discourse. Conscious decisions, awareness-raising and skill-building can enable designers and teachers of design-related studies to better take eco-anxiety and other eco-emotions into account.

Introduction: The reform of the health and social services in Finland includes the modernization of both work processes and facilities. This means a transition to patient reception rooms and office facilities that are in shared use. However, research on the associations of shared workspaces with well-being is rare. The aim of this study is to investigate how healthcare professionals rate the functionality of the shared workspaces and how it is associated with work engagement and perceived stress.

Methodology: Questionnaires were administered in five healthcare organizations (N=329). Pearson's correlation coefficients and linear regression were used to test which functionality factors of shared workspaces were associated with work engagement and perceived stress. Unadjusted models, as well as models adjusted for age, gender, managerial position, and use of spaces, are reported.

Results: The perception of the safety of the facilities was the strongest predictor of work engagement and perceived stress in shared patient reception rooms. Furthermore, the perceptions on how well the facilities supported interaction and collaboration between teams/units predicted work engagement and perceived stress in both reception rooms and activity-based workspaces (ABW). Positive ratings of how well the facilities supported interaction and collaboration were associated with higher work engagement and lower stress. The perceived availability of spaces for quiet work predicted higher work engagement but not perceived stress. However, when adjusted for the use of spaces (assigned or non-assigned seating), non-assigned seating emerged as a stronger predictor of work engagement than perceived availability for quiet spaces. Given that disturbance of speech was common in ABWs, organizations and designers should focus on creating ABWs that enable undisturbed interaction and collaboration.

The global issue of displacement presents significant challenges, particularly concerning the provision of adequate shelter for affected communities. The correlation between inadequate shelters and the wellbeing of displaced populations is a critical area of concern. Recognizing the urgent need for improved understanding, the study examines the connection between sustainable housing, wellbeing, and the unique challenges faced by displaced communities worldwide. Employing a mixed-method approach, including fieldwork in the humanitarian field or sheltering, expert interviews, and case studies, the study aims to shed light on the possibility of empathic design principles for improvements. The paper proposes key design principles for the process of sheltering the displaced population, emphasizing principles such as inclusive participation, cultural sensitivity, flexibility, and environmental consciousness. By prioritizing the overall health and wellbeing of inhabitants, these principles seek to address the complex challenges associated with sheltering and contribute to the advancement of humanitarian architecture, ultimately improving the lives of displaced populations globally.

This paper presents the design, application, and results of experience-centered design sessions (ECD) involving nonverbal persons with dementia (PwD) and persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PwPIMD). This study is part of a larger interdisciplinary project dedicated to understanding the personhood of these persons within contexts of care and living. This study is grounded in the belief that sensory experiences and interactions can render their personhood visible, tangible, and accessible. With three participants from each group in six different care facilities, ECD sessions spanned four consecutive days. During these sessions, various tools aimed at providing sensory stimuli were introduced to the participants. These sessions were recorded and later analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The reactions, interactions, actions, or the lack thereof, with or without these designed tools, provided insights into which tools and approaches effectively rendered nonverbal personhood visible, tangible, and accessible. Additionally, this study also considers the already existing sensory stimuli within their care setting, which were also observed and included in the analysis. Through these ECD sessions, a metaphorical space was created between the participant, designer-researcher, other actors, and tools present in these facilities. This paper not only explores the immediate and latent results of these sessions on the nonverbal participants but also considers the impact on other actors present within these facilities during the sessions. The paper concludes by providing recommendations to design for nonverbal personhood for designer-researchers working with nonverbal persons in care, while also highlighting ways to include them into research to create new avenues for understanding, recognition, and inclusion.

We navigate through the environment using our sensory stimuli. Sound is significant in guiding us through space and making us aware of time. Soundscape is an acoustic environment as perceived and experienced by a person. While an unfamiliar and chaotic soundscape can increase anxiety and stress, a well-designed soundscape can make the experience pleasant and improve moods. People with dementia suffer from a neurodegenerative disorder, leading to a progressive decline in cognitive health. Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) refer to a group of noncognitive behaviours that affect the prediction and control of dementia. Reducing the occurrence of BPSD is one of the main goals of dementia care. People with severe dementia usually live in nursing homes, long-term care facilities or memory care units where sensory perception is unfamiliar. The strange sensory stimuli add to the anxiety and distress of residents as care facilities are often not customized based on individual needs. Research shows that incorporating pleasant sounds into the environment, known as an 'augmented soundscape,' positively impacts behaviour and reduces BPSD. Most design tools and guidelines include eliminating unwanted noise. To date, there are no guidelines for sound augmentation in dementia care design. The previous study of sound selection showed promising results in sound augmentation and identifying sounds that a person with dementia may prefer during a specific time of the day. The sharpness and high-pitch sounds, such as animal localization, had positive results. Cricket sounds showed positive feedback during nighttime and evening; either its tranquillity made it favourable, or the continuous sound masked other noises during the night (like white noise). These results can be used to introduce sound augmentation guidelines. The goal is to introduce sound as a positive design implementation to enhance mood, reduce apathy and depression, lower anxiety and stress, and promote health.

Cultural facilities represent significant institutions for the cultural life and socialisation of citizens. These facilities should develop cultural and social values, encourage social interaction, and improve the way of life. The paper will analyse the influence of cultural buildings built during the socialist era on the inhabitants, the correspondence of these architectural buildings with visitors and the urban environment in which they are located. It will also examine how revitalisation and modernisation would affect the emotional connection between users and these facilities. The purpose of this research is to gain insight into whether the potential revitalisation of cultural centres is the right way to further encourage today's modern society to use these spaces and to encourage community integration within these cultural objects. The results should suggest that adequate revitalisation of the analysed cultural objects had a positive effect on the social and emotional well-being of the community and helped to form quality social inclusions.