ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the experience of the health sector over the last decade or so, focusing on the way the translational research agenda has expanded from evidence-based (EB) medicine to evidence-based healthcare space design (EBD). The issues and trends considered in the chapter generally apply at the level of a whole sector, whether health or higher education, though we draw attention to exceptions where necessary. Healthcare space research has looked at the relationship between the qualities of the built environment, organizational management practices such as human relations (HR) management, and the performance outcomes of healthcare workers. Some approaches to telemedicine design in hospitals are determined more precisely by the nature of the medical activities being provided in the healthcare space. In the higher education sector internationally, an emphasis on discipline-based research activity rather than on teaching and learning tends to reduce the impetus for systematic learning space research.