By Healthcare Facilities Today

It's important for designers to understand the spectrum of journeys that cancer patients experience, to gain empathy that informs the design of environments to more effectively support the cancer fight, according to an article on the Healthcare Design website. With deeper understanding, designers can increase their ability to design uniquely responsive places that have the potential to aid the healing process and to provide a place that reinforces respect, dignity and security.

With medical and technological advances, more cancer patients are living longer. As hospitals and caregivers treat greater numbers of chronic cases, facilities that respond to the unique requirements of cancer patients become essential, the article said. The increasing number of cancer cases has triggered a two-fold increase in the number of specialty treatment and care centers, both inpatient and outpatient, over the last decade.

Some consider cancer center design the same as any healthcare setting, utilizing a traditionally methodic design approach driven by function and operations. While functionality is essential to any healthcare environment, buildings that provide cancer care must encompass characteristics that address the distinctive aspects of the cancer patient and the care team, which are both unique, according to the article.

The following questions should be an important part of the design process:

• What makes the cancer patient unique?

• What makes cancer care distinctive?

• What are the needs of specially trained caregivers?

• How can the physical environment support the needs of patients, caregivers, and family members?

• How can the design support the focused efforts for both cancer treatment and disease prevention?

• How can we incorporate the latest technologies, new medicines and advanced research, and specialty treatment?

• Paramount to success in creating uniquely responsive cancer care environments, designers must remember that the spaces and places created are ultimately for the people who inhabit them. Understanding and empathizing with these constituents is vital for the design team to create a responsive and supportive environment.

Read the article.