The impact of bedside technology on patients' well-being

This paper presents a study to gain insight into the effects of the visibility of medical equipment on the well-being of patients.

Encounters with healthcare situations are characterized by stress and anxiety. The presence of wires, tubes, and monitors near the bedside may contribute to these feelings. One of the trends in healthcare design is to organize the headwalls of patient rooms in such a way as to reduce clutter and minimize the visibility of medical equipment, but no experimental studies are available that investigate the effects of the visibility of medical equipment in patient rooms.

This experiment employed a single-factor between-subjects design (medical equipment visible vs. medical equipment out of sight) exposing participants (n = 42) to a scenario and a picture of a hospital room.

Placing medical equipment out of sight leads to reduced feelings of stress in patients. This stress-reducing effect is mediated by feelings of pleasure. Placing medical equipment out of sight leads to a more positive emotional state, which in turn leads to feelings of reduced stress in patients. Moreover, placing equipment out of sight leads to people having more trust in the healthcare provider.

The current study emphasizes the importance of the built healthcare environment and shows what role the visibility of medical equipment can play in the healing process of patients.