Universal Design
in Healthcare
by DeAnna Radaj, Allied ASID, Bante Design, LLC
Universal design is a concept, that when applied to
environments, ensures that facilities, products and services
are usable by all people. Handicapped accessible, aging
in place, life-span design and ageless design are all
terms that have been used before universal design became
the politically correct term of choice. The term universal
design originated in the US where the ADA increased consciousness
among designers about rights of people with disabilities.
UD allows for greater creativity and challenges by introducing
the concept of equivalent facilitation and by asking
the designer to develop an imaginative empathy with all
building users.
UD is very important in healthcare design in that not
only are people with disabilities considered, rather
the designer needs to consider the total population,
which can include: athletes with sports' injuries, grandparents
with young children...UD is "socially responsible
design" that involves all of the building's users
that emphasizes the "functional, phyusical, psychological,
organizational and social needs of patients, visitors
and hospital staff. UD also can encourage independence,
autonomy and enhances the self-esteem of patients in
any helathcare setting.
The aging baby boomer population will make UD more important
to all design in the coming years. This holds true not
only for design, but for the manufacturers of product.
UD is a "powerful marketing tool" as GE Appliances
has stated. Instead of "niche marketing" your
product/design it can apply to the population on the
whole; it can benefit users of all ages and fuctional
abilities.
Incorporating UD in healthcare design is critical as
many with disabilities are embarrassed to ask for help
or have a fear of losing even more independence. Worse
yet, medical staff may not know how to assist the person,
causing even more frustration for all involved parties.
Increasing accessibility at healthcare facilities will
encourage more to seek out services, thus increasing
their client base as well as the general health of individuals
with disabilities.
Europe has embraced UD-especially in healthcare design.
In fact the Irish Charter of Rights for Hospital Patients
has gone as far as defining patients as "consumers" of
hospital services. they have stated that "patients
no longer accept excellence in healthcare for healthcare
sake alone...UD principles provide the most comprehensive
methodology for ensuring the maximization of quality
and dignity to all service users in all healthcare facilities."
Questions Designers need to ask are:
- What ambience is reflected in the architectural
scale.
- Do waiting areas accommodate wheelcahir users and
guide dogs?
- Are areas welcoming, warm, reassuring for the anxious
patient?
- Is lighting suitable for the visually impaired?
- Does the signage system work for the illiterate
and visually impaired?
- Does noise level interfere with hard of hearing/blind
people orientating themselves and are there areas allowing
for accoustic privacy?
- How near are washrooms and are they accessible to
all?
- Are floor finishes non-reflective to reassure the
confused ambulant patient?
- Are doorways clearly marked with no obstructions
on either side?
- Do pathways permit easy return of inpatients to
their rooms?
Recommended UD features for healthcare design:
- Spaces left open but dispersed in waiting areas
where wheelchair users can sit out of traffic lanes
but with other people.
- Chairs for use by people who cannot stand while
transacting business.
- A portable, amplified communication system or devie
with volume control at service desks and treatment
spaces for people who are hard of hearing.
- More than one accessible toilet and dressing room,
some left-handed and some right-handed.
- a TTY for use by people who are deaf to make phone
calls from helathcare facilities.
- staff awareness and training in suding the National
Telephone Relay System
- awareness and sensitivity traing for all staff and
professional personnel on interacting with people with
disabilities
- single lever faucets in bathrooms
- adjustable height counters
- seats in shower stalls
- contrasting colors between floors and walls
- audio and visual smoke alarm systems
In conclusion, the design and creation of universally
usable healthcare environments and services benefits
all patients/customers by increasing autonomy of disabled
persons, easier way-finding for all visitors and accessibility
for the population as a whole. |
