Hospital Architecture in Spain and Italy: Gaps Between Education and Practice

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Architecture
• Medical Facility Design
• Health Systems Engineering

Background:

• Hospital design impacts healthcare quality and cost-effectiveness.
• Spain and Italy face challenges like aging populations and outdated facilities.
• Both nations share issues in life expectancy, health expenditure, and healthcare system structure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate challenges and limitations in Spanish and Italian hospital design.
• To identify gaps between hospital design education and professional practice.
• To provide recommendations for improving healthcare architecture in these countries.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, mixed-method study was employed.
• Educational programs were reviewed through web searches.
• An online survey assessed 53 architectural/engineering offices involved in hospital design.

Main Results:

• Hospital design education is scarce in Spanish (0/58) and Italian (2/60) universities.
• Few practitioners (48% Spain, 60% Italy) have specific university training in healthcare design.
• A lack of medical professionals in design offices hinders interdisciplinary collaboration.

Conclusions:

• Enhance hospital design education by tailoring it to national needs.
• Promote multidisciplinary teams in both education and practice.
• Improve collaboration between health and design fields to advance healthcare architecture.