“Designing a Migrant-Friendly Health Service Environment”

Hospitals in a culturally diverse EuropeAmsterdam; 9-11 December 2004

Mark R D Johnson with Kip Jones, Adam Hardy, Deborah Biggerstaff, Jan Birksted

Centre for Evidence in Ethnicity Health & DiversityMary Seacole Research Centre

The Aim

Spaces and Places must be seen to be equally accessible to all members of society to ensure equity of access

The built environment ‘rather than a neutral backdrop … can uphold dominant cultural discourse, social divisions and inequalities’ (Gillespie)

What IS ‘a culturally specific’ (or sensitive) healthcare setting?

Decorative ArtExternal Environment

Building ‘Gardens’ Safe approaches

ColoursEntrances and Welcomes

How do we Use space?

Gender SegregationPrivacyVisitor Space“Views” (Ulrich)General preferences for ‘sunny’

rooms‘Open-ness’ (Australian aboriginals)

Spirituality

‘Chaplaincy’Prayer SpaceRituals of Death and Passage

Washing Gender separation (again) Orientation Family involvement ‘Equipment’ and Symbols

Communication

LanguageSymbolsSignifiers and DirectionsLanguage support (Interpreters)

Space and placement Equipment – phone lines etc Multi-lingual Information Technology

Further suggestions

‘Sacralising Space’ (Ownership)Art-as-process

A Practice Question – An Isolation Ward

Class

Geography Ancestry

Traditions Religion

Family Language

Culture

Diet

Diversity

'Race' Genetics Migration

Gender

Disability

Location

A few references

Beauchemin KM, Hays P 1996 'Sunny hospital rooms expedite recovery from severe and refractory depressions' Journal of Affective Disorders 40 :59-61

Day K, Cohen U 2000 'The role of culture in designing environments for people with dementia: a study of Russian Jewish immigrants' Environment and Behaviour 32,3 :361-399

Ford H 1995 The Signage Information Project Leeds: NHS Ethnic Health Unit / Mancunian Community Health NHS Trust (Report kept at King's Fund, London)

Gillespie R 2002 Architecture and Power: a family planning clinic as a case study Health & Place 8 :211-220

Jackson M, Peters J (2003). Introducing touchscreens to black and ethnic minority groups - a report of processes and issues in the Three Cities project. Health Information and Libraries Journal 20 :143-149

Johnson MRD 2004 Faith Prayer and Religious Observances Clinical Cornerstone 6,1 :17-24

Leman P 1997 Interpreter use in an inner city accident and emergency department. Jnl Accident Emergency Medicine 14(2): 98-100.

Marcus CC, Barnes M (Eds.), 1999 Healing Gardens: Therapeutic benefits and design recommendations New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Werbner P 1996 Stamping the Earth with the Name of Allah: Zikr and the Sacralizing of Space among British Muslims Cultural Anthropology 11,3

And a final thought

Culturally diverse Art can be an enrichment for everyone as well as something meaningful for particular groups –

Carefully chosen artworks from ‘less developed’ countries are better and often cheaper than ‘reproductions’ and purchasing/ sourcing materials is itself an ethical and empowering activity that may increase sensitivity!

‘Co-ordinates’ orContact Details

CEEHD - Mary Seacole Research CentreDe Montfort University266 London Road, Leicester LE2 1RQTel: +44 116 201 3906 Fax: +44 116 201 3805

seacole@dmu.ac.uk website: www.dmu.ac.uk/msrc or

http://users.wbs.ac.uk/group/ceehd