Stichting Welbevinden en Interieur in Zorginstellingen
(Foundation for Well-being and Interior in Care Institutions)
Influence of interior of care institutions on well-being: first research findings promising
The Netherlands-based SWIZ,
the Foundation for Well-being and Interior in Care Institutions, was set up
in mid-2001. As an independent knowledge center, the Foundation's aim is both
to amass knowledge of and to initiate new research into the influence that
the interior can have on the well-being of residents and personnel in care
institutions.
Involved in the SWIZ are leading scientists
from various Dutch and foreign universities.
With a subsidy from the Dutch VSB Fund, the SWIZ has been able to recruit
a part-time researcher for the period of one year in order to explore this
almost virgin territory further.
The first research findings indicate a clear connection between factors of the interior and the well-being of patients/residents in care institutions. Not only is the aesthetic appreciation of a room or space of importance here but also the opportunity that people perceive to have in being able to chose between a certain degree of social interaction or privacy. This choice is part determined by the interior design of a space, e.g. by the arrangement of the furniture or the size of the windows.
The research so far conducted on the initiative
of the SWIZ indicates that a closer study is certainly required, including
one into the specific influence of the various factors individually.
As a result, five new pilot studies were started in mid-2003.
To this end, the SWIZ has detailed plans ready and would like to come into
contact with possible participants, such as
care institutions that are planning a change of interior, interior architects,
and students wishing to conduct research. The ultimate aim is that the interior
of care institutions becomes instrumental in improving the quality of care.
And this, in turn, is in the direct interest of patients, personnel and management
of care institutions.
