Perceptual effect of color use in patient rooms

Abstract

Messages are conveyed to users through every element within the space. People receive these messages through sense organs. People and space interact constantly because of the way that they perceive and transmit space. People also establish their action boundaries, identify their motivational criteria, and feel a sense of belonging to the place they experience as a result of this interaction. In this way, the location, with all of its characteristics, influences the mental health of those who inhabit it. The colors chosen for patient rooms have a significant impact on the emotional and mental health of the patients, given the medical procedures and rehabilitation programs that they undergo. Patients' healing processes may vary based on the physical characteristics of the environment in which they are situated. Hospitals are intricate functional structures, so specific design requirements should be established by assessing every department independently. The purpose of this study is to determine how people's perception of spatial quality in general patient rooms where two adults stay during treatment is affected by the use of color. In the research method, adjective pairs were determined in line with spatial quality in order to reveal the perceptual effect of color variables in patient rooms. The survey technique was applied according to this experimental design. By simulating the patient room- which was proposed as the study area- in a digital environment with a one-to-one scale, the colors identified as the dependent variable in the study's methodology were visualized independently. The survey technique was employed to ask questions about the perceptual effect of colors on people who have experienced patient rooms by using adjective pairs based on the spatial quality level. The orange color used in patient room interior design was found to be eye-catching, communication facilitator, inviting, pleasing, encouraging, and sincere, while the blue color was found to be comforting and refreshing, based on data acquired from the survey, which was administered to 168 people in total. Many spaces in hospital buildings serve a variety of purposes, and the patients who use these spaces have a range of needs. For this very reason, it is advised that these hospital units be included in the interior design process utilizing information supported by empirical research, with each space being specially designed to meet its unique requirements and functions.

Keywords

• hospital
• patient room
• spatial perception
• color