Six ways in which design can improve safety

21.03.2023 Overflowing patient information leaflets, communication difficulties, impossible-to-find examination rooms, a frightening hospital atmosphere: six practical examples show how research-based design can positively influence hospital stays.

If the font is too small, the sign incomprehensible or the furniture not ergonomic, this can have fatal consequences in a hospital environment. Research-based design therefore looks for ways to communicate clearly, design safely, optimise what already exists, improve orientation, strengthen feelings of safety and reduce uncertainty.

1 Communicating clearly

In the health sector, the unambiguous communication of information is essential. Inadequate or misunderstood information can quickly lead to uncertainty, poor compliance or incorrect care in everyday practice.

The questionnaire for neuropaediatric consultations provides visual and written support for the verbal explanations given by professionals. It serves as a reminder for parents and as documentation for doctors. (Image: HCCD working group at BFH)

If you know when communication problems can occur, you can actively counteract them. The diagram shows possible communication problems that can come up when caring for child patients who speak a foreign language. (Image: HCCD working group at BFH)

In the ‘Talking pictures’ project, an interdisciplinary research team comprising investigators from design, nursing research and medical informatics at Bern University of Applied Sciences developed a prototype for a digital, image-based communication aid to help with language barriers in paediatric emergencies. (Image: HCCD working group at BFH)

2 Designing safe healthcare buildings

When planning healthcare buildings, safety-related design aspects should be examined as early as possible for both healthcare users and healthcare staff. This helps to avoid mistakes, minimise safety risks and reduce costs.

With the help of floor plan projections on a 1:1 scale, healthcare buildings can be tested with users in the Living Lab of the Swiss Center for Design and Health during the early planning phase. (Image: Swiss Center for Design and Health)

The aim is to optimise the floor plans so that they support work and treatment processes and thus contribute to the safety of patients and healthcare staff. (Image: Swiss Center for Design and Health)

Simple life-sized cardboard models – as shown here for a planned hospital in the US state of Georgia – help simulate treatment and work processes and optimise the interior design plans. (Image: Nora Colman)

About us

Since 2007, an interdisciplinary team at Bern University of Applied Sciences has been researching questions relating to design and health. Experts from the fields of design, architecture, nursing, medical informatics and business collaborate with healthcare institutions. Since 2022, the team has been conducting research at the Swiss Center for Design and Health (SCDH), a public-private partnership in which Bern University of Applied Sciences is also involved. The SCDH combines interdisciplinary university research and the private sector with a focus on knowledge and technology transfer.

Further information

3 Optimising existing buildings

Existing buildings can be optimised, too. For example, an interdisciplinary team of BFH researchers makes concrete suggestions for improvements in terms of safety, ergonomics and hygiene.

Patient room: the strong contrast between the different types of flooring can be perceived as a threshold by people with impaired vision and thus increase the risk of falling. (Image: HCCD working group at BFH)

Patient room: a missing handle makes it difficult to open the built-in cupboard and thus increases the risk of injury, especially for older patients with arthritis. (Image: HCCD working group at BFH)

4 Communicating safety

The design of the spatial environment helps older patients and patients with cognitive impairments to orientate themselves better and to feel safe and comfortable during their stay.

Before: two-bed patient room in the Lindenhofspital, Bern. It is difficult for people with dementia to find their way around the room owing to the monochromatic colour scheme of the walls. (Image: HCCD working group at BFH)

After: the coloured areas on the walls make it easier for people with cognitive impairments to find their assigned bed. Picture strips allow them to personalise the room with their own images. (Image: Damian Poffet; design: komform)

The colour coding is also continued in the bathroom. This allows patients to identify their towel and toothbrush more clearly. (Image: Damian Poffet; design: komform)

5 Reducing uncertainty

Poor signage misdirects people, leaving them disorientated and unsettled. Holistic, evidence-based and human-centred design concepts can counteract this. One example is the Sollievo.net Centre for Mental Health, which provides care for people with mental illnesses.

Provisional signage and design intervention makes it possible to subtly and effectively improve the situation on site through the interplay of material and colours. (Image: HCCD working group at BFH)

6 Ensuring orientation

The interior design of the Felix Platter University for Geriatric Medicine in Basel needed to be improved. Thanks to a newly developed signage, colour and image concept, both healthcare users and staff should be able to find their way around the hospital more easily.

Before: entrance area of the Felix Platter University for Geriatric Medicine in Basel. Improvised signage indicates that there is a need for improvement. (Image: HCCD working group at BFH)

Before and after: signage in the lobby (design). Reduced information and colour coding help people to find their way around the building. (Image: HCCD working group at BFH)

After: signage in the lift area (design). Colours help to identify areas of the building and assist with orientation in the hospital. (Image: HCCD working group at BFH)

After: signage in the wards. (Design, image: HCCD working group at BFH).

The examples discussed are from projects of an interdisciplinary research team at Bern University of Applied Sciences and the Swiss Center for Design and Health (SCDH), the national technology competence centre at the interface of design and health based in Nidau, Biel/Bienne.