Author:

Keywords:

adolescent healthcare, hospital design, patient experience

Abstract:

Introduction and Aims: Adolescence is a period of transition that comes with complex development processes. When adolescents are confronted with a chronic disease or the consequences of an accident, this development is jeopardized. They are separated from the familiar environment and exposed to hospital environments that are often unadjusted to young people. Despite growing research on how the physical environment affects the well-being of the (child as) patient, the adolescent is often overlooked. Therefore, we investigated how adolescents experience a hospital stay and to what extent their experience is influenced by the physical environment. In addition, we investigated what an adolescent-friendly hospital environment means from the perspective of the adolescents themselves. Methods: We (retrospectively) interviewed ten adolescents who are or have been affected by cancer between the age of 14 and 25. More important than their age, however, was their long-term experience as a patient. Preliminary findings were discussed with professional experts and adjusted to their input. Results: Our findings suggest that adolescent patients are primarily looking for connections with life outside the hospital. Design strategies that contribute to this include maximizing freedom of choice, flexibility and spatial variety; attending to the comfort of visiting family and friends; providing in age-appropriate activities, nice outdoor spaces and internet access; pursuing aesthetic coherence and a homelike atmosphere; and combining individual patient rooms with a variety of communal rooms. Discussion and Conclusion: There is a need for a hospital environment dedicated to young people, whether this takes shape as a separate adolescents’ ward, or as the grouping of adolescents on children’s and/or adult wards. Even if adolescent patients’ needs may somehow resemble those of other patient groups, as a group they clearly have specific features and needs, and this specificity is largely hidden in the process of development and transition they are undergoing.