Analyzing green building rating tools for healthcare buildings from the building user’s perspective

Abstract

The principles of sustainability in the healthcare building sector are perceived differently by different healthcare building user groups. Based on a cross-sectional survey of hospital patients, staff, visitors and members of the public, this study found that issues relating to transport and accessibility were perceived as “more significant” by respondents compared to how they are currently weighted in the Australian Green Star–Healthcare building rating tool. Environmental impacts relating to emissions to air and water were also identified as “more significant” by the healthcare building users than their Green Star weighting would suggest. Indoor environmental quality has been acknowledged as the highest priority in choosing a healthcare building by the survey respondents. It is also one of the two priority categories given in Green Star in terms of weighting, which suggests that the Green Star–Healthcare rating tool aligns well with healthcare building user perspectives on this particular measure, which is linked to faster recovery rates of hospital patients.

Keywords

Green Star Healthcare building Human factors Perception gap User perspectives

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Our Common Future, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.

Environment and Ecology. Green Building, http://environment-ecology.com/environment-and-architecture/80-green-building.html, 2012 (accessed April 27, 2012).

Oslon

. Historical Dictionary of the 1960s, Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999.

Miyamoto

. Renewable biological systems for alternative sustainable energy production, Rome: Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1997.

MacIver

. Political Issues in the World Today, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

Public Technology . Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green Building Design, Construction, and Operations, Denver: Public Technology Inc, 1996.

Guenther

Vittori

. Sustainable Healthcare Architecture, Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 2007.

Phelps

Horman

Barr

. Greening Healthcare Facilities Roundtable, University Park Pennsylvania: Lean and Green Research Initiative, 2006.

Cassidy

. Green Buildings Research White Paper, Arlington Heights: Building Design Construction, 2007.

10.

Ries

Bilec

Gokhan

. The economic benefits of green buildings: A comprehensive case study. Eng Econ 2006; 51: 259–295.

11.

Greer D. The Dollars & Sense of Greening Healthcare: green@work, Sep/Oct, 2005.

12.

Kats

. Green Building Costs and Financial Benefit, Boston: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, 2003.

13.

Langdon

. The Cost & Benefits of Achieving Green Buildings, London: Davis Langdon, 2007.

14.

Stalker

. Engineering Sustainability into Hospitals, Saint Louis: Alliance for Natural Health, 2008.

15.

Phelps

Horman

Barr

. Bridging the physics of building with the physiology of health care: greening healthcare facilities. J Green Build 2006; 1: 164–176.

16.

Zimring

DuBose

Healthy health care settings. In: Dannenberg

Frumkin

Jackson

(eds). Making Healthy Places: Designing and Building for Health: Designing and Building for Health, Well-being, and Sustainability, Washington: Island Press, 2011, pp. 203–215.

17.

Health Care Without Harm, http://www.noharm.org/, 2013 (accessed February 3, 2013).

18.

Practice Greenhealth, http://practicegreenhealth.org/, 2013 (accessed February 3, 2013).

19.

Green Building Council of Australia. Development of Green Star rating tools, accessed 6/12/2011 at http://www.gbca.org.au/green-star/what-is-green-star/development-of-green-star-rating-tools/1540.htm, 2008 (accessed February 3, 2013).

20.

Gold

Wooldridge

. Surveying consumer satisfaction to assess managed care quality: current practices. Health Care Financing Rev 1995; 16: 155–173.

21.

Chiingerian

Evaluating quality outcomes against best practice: A New Frontier. In: Kimberly

Minvielle

(eds). The Quality Imperative: Measurement and management of quality in healthcare, London: Imperial College Press, 2000, pp. 141–167.

22.

Gittel

. The Southwest Airlines Way, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.

23.

Australian Institute of Health and Wellfare. MyHospitals, http://www.myhospitals.gov.au/, 2012 (accessed April 11, 2012).

24.

Huisman

ERCM

Morales

van Hoof

. Healing environment: A review of the impact of physical environmental factors on users. Build Environ 2012; 58: 70–80.

25.

Tranter

. Political divisions over climate change and environmental issues in Australia. Environ Politics 2011; 20: 78–96.

26.

Ulrich

. View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science 1984; 224: 420–421.