Adaptive daily rhythm atmospheres for stroke patients : a staff evaluation

This paper addresses the evaluation with hospital staff of an in-patient environment that supports patients, family, nursing staff and medical specialists during the recovery process of neurology patients and especially patients recovering from a stroke. We describe the methods that were used to evaluate the Adaptive Daily Rhythm Atmospheres (ADRA) concept. The goal of this evaluation was to gauge expectations against the different phases of the ADRA concept both qualitatively and quantitatively to determine if the different phases are useful, usable and desirable for 1) the healing process of the patient and 2) the workflow of the staff. The results show that the hospital staff expects a positive effect of the different phases of the ADRA concept on the healing process of the patient. In fact the results from the staff of different institutes and with different roles were in agreement on most evaluation criteria. Regarding the clinical workflow, the staff also expects a positive effect for almost all phases. The evaluation results are used to further improve the design of healing environments in general and the ADRA concept in particular.