ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF GARDENS ON HOSPITAL STAFF

HYPOTHESIS

Planning garden in hospital increases hospital staffs productivity

ABSTRACT

The hospital industry in our times is on the boom, this is because many big urbanized cities today are facing increasing number of patients suffering from a variety of diseases which is the gift of our modern culture. My concern goes to the hospital staffs. These people have to work so hard & their job is many times so stressful & exhausting that it also effects their productivity. So, as an architect, we are also responsible to suggest measures & design parameters which will help the staff in increasing their work productivity & in turn people in getting better quality health care.

My dissertation would be a research work to focus on the garden as a design parameter which if provided efficiently & in a well planned manner in hospital compound, it can boost the efficiency & productivity of hospital staffs.

Many hospitals are designed concerning all standards of hospitals, well functionality & providing it a good architecture, but such measures that providing green spaces like gardens in a well-planned manner are mostly neglected. Providing green spaces like gardens are not given the priority among the designers designing hospitals but it is always a secondary issue. Open areas if left after designing are given to landscape.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Issue:

Increasing hospital staffs productivity through planning of gardens

Methodology:

Research 1 Personally asking a specific amount of samples (doctors, nurses, staff, medical students) about their feelings of working in an atmosphere surrounded by garden or otherwise.

Research 2 Taking questionnaires from samples (hospital staff) which involves thinking in two kind of spaces. One a room with no openings & second a room with plants, sculpture, & flowers.

Results:Research 1 People responded in favour of working in an atmosphere having gardens nearby. People who are not having gardens in their workplaces said about stressful work atmosphere & that they would like to work in a place having gardens. People who have gardens in their workplaces said how it helps in decreasing the stresses & exhaustion they get while working. It proves hospital staffs needs gardens in their hospitals to work efficiently & in a less stressful manner.

Research 2 People sitting in a room with no openings, responded in a dull manner, their answers doesnt show much thinking process done. They were just answering to complete the questionnaire.

While people sitting in a room having plants, sculpture & flowers responded in a positive & productive manner. Their answers showed a good amount of thinking process done in answering.

It proves people working in a second case had a good productivity & their mind works in less stressfull manner while the first one feels stress & work efficiency was decreased.

My methodology: I would be preparing questionnaires & personally taking interviews to two kinds of hospital staffs about their working experiences. One would be a hospital with no garden areas & another having enough gardens & green spaces in their hospitals.

Also I would like to take questionnaire from the patients about the behaviour & care of the doctors & the hospital staffs & of both kinds of hospitals.

Apart from this I would be compiling the briefs & results of the published researches done on my topic which will help further in proving my hypothesis.

SYED ASIF FURQANM.ARCH (RECREATION)III SEMESTERJAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA