Last modified: 2014-09-11
Abstract
EBD (Evidence-based Design) is a "buzzword" among hospital planners and architects in Sweden today. Everyone has heard of it, but few know what it is and no one has yet truly applied it.
EBD has its roots in the USA during the nineties and the turn of the century, and is indebted to evidence-based medicine (EBM). Knowledge about EBD has become a must among architects in the US healthcare market. As is the case in the field of medicine, its proponents suggest that design should also to a greater extent be based on evidence.
In this study EBD is considered as two partially separate phenomena. Firstly, the research results that indicate a connection between the physical environment and its impact on health care outcomes; secondly, the methodology that describes how research should be integrated into the planning process.
Within the "EBD movement” there is great confidence in the possibilities of science and research. But what does EBD mean for the work of the healthcare architect? This study points out that there will be no fast or dramatic change. Planning and building will, even in the future, mainly be based on decisions that are not directly connected to evidence. However, a better informed process will lead to better buildings and in the long run a larger body of evidence.
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