Original articleNurses' perception of single-occupancy versus multioccupancy rooms in acute care environments: An exploratory comparative assessment
Section snippets
Background
Demographic changes in the United States, such as the aging of the baby-boom generation, increasing life expectancy, and continued immigration, could result in a 46% increase in bed demand in hospitals by 2027 (Solucient, 2003). An increasing number of patients attend hospitals with a higher level of acuity, requiring complex care. In addition, the continuous upgrading in medical technology has generated the need for built-in flexibility in the design of hospital facilities. A recent extensive
Key findings from the literature
The major issues of the literature were synthesized in three categories, and articles in each category were subdivided into empirical and nonempirical articles.2 The three categories are as follows:
- 1.
Cost issues of single-occupancy versus multioccupancy rooms
- 2.
Infection control
Method
Based on the above mentioned literature, a survey instrument was designed to collect data on patient care, management, and infection control issues from nursing staff. The research methodology was reviewed and approved by the authors' university Institutional Review Board and also by senior administrators at the hospital sites. This instrument was pilot tested with nursing staff members in four hospitals in the Pacific Northwest6
Comparison of single-occupancy versus double-occupancy rooms
In comparing single-occupancy versus double-occupancy rooms, it is evident that nurses clearly favor single-occupancy rooms, as demonstrated by data in Table 2.7 For instance, 84% of the respondents rated room flexibility as high or very high in single-occupancy rooms, whereas only 40% of
Conclusion
This project was a pilot study on nursing staff members' comparative assessment of patient care issues between single-occupancy and double-occupancy rooms. The findings need to be viewed within the context of the limited sample size of this pilot study (nursing staff, N = 77). In comparing single-occupancy versus double-occupancy rooms, it is evident that the nursing staff clearly favored single-occupancy rooms. Most of the participants responded more favorably for single rooms than for double
Acknowledgment
This article is based on a study funded by the Coalition for Health Environments Research and Facility Guidelines Institute.
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