A descriptive survey of adult inpatient physical rehabilitation facility buildings in Victoria, Australia

The design of hospital buildings can impact clinical efficiency, outcomes, and well-being.

Aims

The aim of this survey was to describe the buildings that house rehabilitation facilities in Victoria. This included how many beds they provide, whether they are free-standing or part of an acute hospital, when the buildings were built, whether they were purpose-built, whether key services such as a gym are easily accessible from the ward, and the extent to which communal spaces and single-bed rooms are available to patients.

Rehabilitation patients have unique and varied needs. The optimal design for rehabilitation buildings may therefore be distinct from acute healthcare buildings and specific to the needs of each patient group. Data were collected via telephone questionnaire and websites for the rehabilitation facility buildings in Victoria, Australia. Sixty-four rehabilitation facilities were identified (37 public, 27 private). By describing these buildings, we hope to show the current state of rehabilitation facility design and inform future research priorities. The results of this project have been submitted for publication.

Ruby Lipson-Smith is supported by a Research Training Program PhD Scholarship from the Australian Government.