Healing by design : Design of public spaces for children’s hospitals

Abulawi, R. and Walker, S. and Boyko, C. (2019) Healing by design : Design of public spaces for children’s hospitals. In: Research into Design for a Connected World : Proceedings of ICoRD 2019. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, 2 . Springer, Singapore, pp. 427-438. ISBN 9789811359767

Abstract

This research focuses on four main topics: children’s cognitive developments—it relates to age-appropriate interior design; children’s healing environments; public spaces in hospitals—interior architecture and interior design; contextual issues—specifically the religious, ethnic and national context of Palestine. The literature indicates that research is needed in the design of healing environments for children to create spaces that are child-friendly and meet their cognitive development needs. In Palestine, qualitative data were collected during nine co-design and co-creation workshops that included arts-based activities and semi-structured interviews. Participants included children from 3 to 18 years, parents, medical staff and four groups of designers. The study uses a thematic analysis approach for analysing the qualitative data. The results of the analysis were sorted into main themes and sub-themes. The key findings of this study inform guidelines and recommendations for the design of children’s hospitals, particularly public spaces in the context of Palestine.