Designing hospitality for health: an emerging approach to public health

Health is shaped not only by clinical care but also by the environment and interactions people experience in health spaces such as health centers, long-term care communities, and wellness-oriented lodging. This viewpoint argues for continually recognizing and developing Hospitality for Health as an academic focus integrating evidence-based experience design, hospitality, environmental psychology, and systems engineering. Research shows that features of health spaces such as privacy, optimized acoustics, and empathetic services can reduce stress, improve sleep, enhance satisfaction, and support safety and recovery. Viewing health spaces as interconnected restorative environments highlights opportunities for cross-sector curriculum development, research, and innovation. Further formalization of this field can strengthen public health, workforce well-being, and organizational performance, while potentially reducing health disparities, by promoting environments that support dignity, autonomy, and restoration across the lifespan.