Optimizing Healthcare Spaces In Post-Covid19: An Environmental Evaluation Of Outpatient Department Design At DHQ Teaching Hospital, Sahiwal.

Abstract

All modern healthcare facilities focus on environmental and functional optimization. The repeated OPD closures and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the requirement for assessing what environmental factors influence user satisfaction along with health service provider satisfaction in post COVID-19. District Headquarter Hospital in Sahiwal which experienced previous such challenges was chosen to study these variables. Hence scope and direction of research was defined. During data collection, 5-point Likert scale was used to obtain 104 responses both in summer and winter seasons after conducting site examinations and user interviews. The research implemented data assessment along with findings and recommended environmental design interventions. The facility at OPD catered to limited patient numbers so space became inadequate even though specialty days were established. The identified major issues in this setting included inadequate temperature comfort for patients and visitors, missing disabled access, poor conditioned public washrooms, missing storage capacity, diagnostic equipment within the outpatient department, inadequate airflow ventilation and high building moisture levels with limited patient seating options together with inferior visual color schemes. HVAC systems were absent. The summer survey involved 104 respondents and indoor signage emerged as the only favorable aspect. Winter study included 72% male and 28% female participants and OPD facility experienced problems with artificial lighting alongside noise issues as well as concerns about space design and seating arrangements and cleanliness standards and air freshness and humidity levels. New design solutions have been proposed to improve issues currently found in the OPD building.