Evaluation of Healthcare Staff Satisfaction Regarding Furniture Design for Working and Resting Spaces

Zeynep Tuna Ultav; Çiğdem Çetin; Gülnur Ballice; Gizem Güler Nakıp

doi:10.15320/ICONARP.2025.330

Authors

Zeynep Tuna Ultav Yaşar University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0478-7333
Çiğdem Çetin Yaşar University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0585-6989
Gülnur Ballice Yaşar University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8564-1821
Gizem Güler Nakıp Silesian University of Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4508-1823

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15320/ICONARP.2025.330

Keywords:

Healthcare interiors, Healthcare staff, Physical attributes, Psycho-social attributes, User satisfaction

Abstract

The quality of healthcare interiors is considered an important factor in the well-being and satisfaction of healthcare staff. Accordingly, this study evaluates the satisfaction of doctors and nurses with the furniture they use in their working and resting areas in healthcare interiors. This paper’s originality lies in examining the perspective of healthcare staff –doctors and nurses– as users and also investigating furniture as a crucial factor in shaping user satisfaction regarding interior spaces. In this research, a qualitative study, including observation and a case study, is supplemented by a quantitative study, including research and a survey. The method of the study includes a literature review, field trips, structured questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews with the healthcare staff of the four selected hospitals in Turkey. The findings from observations, questionnaires, and interviews are evaluated through a literature review conducted in this study, as evidenced at the conclusion of each analysis section. The data regarding user satisfaction of furniture in the hospitals’ interior spaces were analyzed in terms of tangible physical attributes of furniture such as ergonomic qualities, functionality in layout, sensory qualities of materials and color, and intangible psycho-social attributes such as a sense of belonging/personalization and privacy/sense of control. These factors, along with belonging and privacy, enhance the awareness of interior design in creating healthy, safe, and comfortable hospital environments. The paper contributes to a gap in knowledge regarding the physical and psycho-social features of furniture that influence healthcare staff’s physical and mental health and raises awareness about using interior design to create healthy, safe, and comfortable hospital environments. The research suggests that the interiors of well-designed healthcare facilities have a positive and curative effect on staff and patients; therefore, it should be addressed comprehensively.

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Author Biographies

Zeynep Tuna Ultav, Yaşar University

Zeynep TUNA ULTAV received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from METU, and her PhD from Gazi University. She is currently Head of the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design at Yaşar University. Her research focuses on interior architecture history and theory, modern architecture in Turkey, furniture design, healthcare interiors, architecture and fiction, and tourism architecture.

Çiğdem Çetin, Yaşar University

Çiğdem ÇETİN completed her bachelor’s in interior architecture at Çankaya University, master’s at Hacettepe University—with an Erasmus period at Camerino University, Italy—and PhD in landscape architecture at Ege University. An associate professor at Yaşar University, her research focuses on environmental psychology, sensory design, healthcare interiors, and user well-being.

Gülnur Ballice, Yaşar University

Gülnur BALLICE is a professor at Yaşar University. She holds degrees in architecture from Dokuz Eylül and METU. Her research focuses on urban transformation, creative housing, modern architecture history, design pedagogy, and healthcare interiors. She previously worked in architectural practice and served as department head.

Gizem Güler Nakıp, Silesian University of Technology

Gizem GÜLER NAKIP has received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Yaşar University, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, where she also worked as a research assistant between 2019 and 2021. She is currently a PhD student at the Silesian University of Technology. Her research interests include history and theory of architecture, modern housing, and heritage conservation.

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