Quality Physical Environment in Paediatric Wards: Designer's Creation Versus Users’ Satisfaction

Quality physical environment could contribute towards the creation of a healing environment. This paper, an outcome of an ongoing research on physical qualities of Malaysian paediatric wards investigated the design trend upon users’ satisfaction. Two UK NHS evaluation toolkits were used to evaluate the quality of the physical environment and the users’ satisfaction levels. Data collected involved paediatric wards in eight hospitals and respondents comprised of 215 nurses and 217 patients. Results revealed that the positive design trend was not in tandem with the users’ satisfactory level. Lack of understanding upon users’ needs is suspect in designing those wards.