Built environment and environmental meaning in the stress restoration process: A study in pediatric hospital rooms

Environmental meaning, defined as the set of messages communicated by the physical environment, can be an important source of stress in hospitals. It is thought that if the physical environment evokes positive meanings, it can promote restoration from stress. However, to date there is no empirical research undertaken to investigate the relationship among hospital physical attributes, environmental meaning and stress recovery. We present a doctoral research project in progress aiming to identify physical characteristics of pediatric patient rooms that elicit environmental meanings promoting restoration from stress. The study will be explanatory and will be carried out using a mixed-method design with a quantitative and qualitative research strategy. It will take place in patient rooms of pediatric hospitals in Italy and will investigate hospitalized patients undergoing elective surgeries. The work will be held in three phases through the use of questionnaires, interviews, rating scales, photographs, drawings and written texts.