A healing environment for children

Master thesis (2024)

Authors

G.J. Besselsen Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

L.M. Oorschot Teachers of Practice / A - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
Birgit Jürgenhake Public Building and Housing Design (graduation committee member)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment, Architecture and the Built Environment
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Published Date

03-07-2024

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

When children are admitted to the hospital because of a severe illness, as whole new chapter in life starts for the children and the parents. Several researches emphasize the stress children and parents experience during hospitalisation. However, life becomes even more distressing when the child is allowed to go home and it becomes the parents’ responsibility to take care of the child. Nowadays when a child is too well to stay in the hospital, however, too sick to stay at home, the child is sent home anyway. The reason behind this is that a stay in the hospital is expensive.

Research has been conducted on how the healthcare system is shaped now and how architecture can contribute to an optimisation of healthcare facilities for children who require long-term care. By using multiple research methods like interviewing, fieldwork, documentaries, case studies and a literature study, the aim was to answer the main question.

Healing environment was introduced as a technique to be able to conduct the research. Since research on healing environment is most of the time only for adults, a new framework has been compiled especially for children.

It can be concluded that by implementing the design guidelines, that are compiled, as requirements for an healthy healthcare facility, that architecture can contribute to an optimisation of healthcare facilities.