Purpose

As hospitals are now being designed with an increasing number of single rooms or cubicles, the individual preference of patients with respect to social contact is of great interest. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the experience of patients in an outpatient infusion center.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 29 semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed and analyzed by using direct content analysis.

Findings

Findings showed that patients perceived a lack of acoustic privacy and therefore tried to emotionally isolate themselves or withheld information from staff. In addition, patients complained about the sounds of infusion pumps, but they were neutral about the interior features. Patients who preferred non-talking desired enclosed private rooms and perceived negative distraction because of spatial crowding. In contrast, patients who preferred talking, or had no preference, desired shared rooms and perceived positive distraction because of spatial crowding.

Research limitations/implications

In conclusion, results showed a relation between physical aspects (i.e. physical enclosure) and the social environment.

Practical implications

The findings allow facility managers to better understand the patients’ experiences in an outpatient infusion facility and to make better-informed decisions. Patients with different preferences desired different physical aspects. Therefore, nursing staff of outpatient infusion centers should assess the preferences of patients. Moreover, architects should integrate different types of treatment places (i.e. enclosed private rooms and shared rooms) in new outpatient infusion centers to fulfill different preferences and patients should have the opportunity to discuss issues in private with nursing staff.

Originality/value

This study emphasizes the importance of a mix of treatment rooms, while new hospital designs mainly include single rooms or cubicles.

中文翻译：

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门诊输液设施中患者的经验：定性研究

目的

由于现在医院被设计为具有越来越多的单间或小隔间，因此患者对于社会交往的个人偏爱引起了极大的兴趣。这项研究的目的是为了更好地了解门诊输液中心的患者体验。

设计/方法/方法

通过直接内容分析，总共进行了29次半结构化访谈，抄录和分析。

发现

调查结果表明，患者感觉到缺乏声学隐私，因此试图从情感上隔离自己或隐瞒工作人员的信息。另外，患者抱怨输液泵的声音，但他们对内部特征持中立态度。倾向于不说话的患者需要封闭的私人房间，并由于空间拥挤而感到负面的分心。相比之下，由于空间拥挤，更喜欢说话或没有偏好的患者希望共享房间并感觉到积极的分心。

研究局限/意义

总而言之，结果表明了物理方面（即物理封闭）与社会环境之间的关系。

实际影响

这些发现使设施管理者可以更好地了解患者在门诊输液设施中的经历，并做出更明智的决定。具有不同偏好的患者需要不同的身体方面。因此，门诊输液中心的护理人员应评估患者的喜好。此外，建筑师应在新的门诊输液中心整合不同类型的治疗场所（即封闭的私人房间和共用房间），以实现不同的喜好，患者应有机会与护理人员私下讨论问题。

创意/价值

这项研究强调了混合使用治疗室的重要性，而新的医院设计主要包括单间或隔间。