Beyond Satisfaction: Person-Centred Care and the Physical Environment Revisited-An Integrative Review

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Design
• Person-Centered Care
• Environmental Psychology

Background:

• Person-centered care is a mandated component of health services.
• Recent trends show environmental changes in healthcare settings aiming for a person-centered approach.
• Existing literature explores the link between the physical healthcare environment and person-centered care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore literature on the physical healthcare environment and person-centered care.
• To understand how to better support person-centered care at a system level.
• To identify gaps in current healthcare design and practice.

Main Methods:

• An integrative review was conducted using Whittemore and Knafl's methodology.
• The review involved problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, and analysis.
• A comprehensive search of CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus databases identified 29 relevant articles.

Main Results:

• Themes varied across care settings (aged care, pediatrics, maternity, acute care, mental health, outpatient).
• Common findings included perceptions of safety, risk, and 'hotel culture'.
• Many person-centered design elements were found to be superficial, focusing on satisfaction rather than authentic engagement.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare environments often prioritize satisfaction over genuine engagement and shared decision-making.
• Current person-centered design elements may be aesthetically pleasing but lack authentic partnership.
• Policymakers, accreditors, and leaders must advocate for environmental changes that promote true engagement and shared decision-making.