Bridging the Gap: The Hospital as a Cultural Site
Marily Cintra
Health and Arts Research Centre,
Australia
(Click to download full paper)
Background
Psychosocially supportive design is a major aspect of a healing environment, creating places where wellbeing is valued and promoted. Psychosocially supportive design embraces cultural diversity, creating a shield against ethnocentric biases that can affect healthcare staff and users. How is culture acknowledged and promoted in contemporary healthcare design?
This paper will discuss the inclusion of arts and cultural planning in the development of hospitals in Australia. It will explore how culture, living heritage and cultural development can be included in design for hospitals at planning stages to create health promoting places.
Focusing on the redevelopment of Auburn Hospital, in Western Sydney, the paper will reflect on the methodology used for planning and evaluation of cultural programs in areas where cultural diversity is significantly high. The principal objective of Auburn Hospital in including a cultural program as part of its redevelopment was to promote quality of life and help create a healing environment connected to the communities who use the hospital.
Methodology
Environmental design research methodologies were used in planning, alongside with community cultural development strategies. Collaborative design involving designers, builders, hospital users and artists was used during planning and implementation. Over 350 people were involved in the planning of Auburn Hospital Redevelopment Arts and Cultural Plan through surveys, creative activities and focused interviews.
Findings
Users indicated that the need for a shared understanding of cultural diversity and access to user-friendly information were major aspects in creating a culturally supportive environment.
Conclusion
The involvement of users in the development of arts and cultural programs creates innovative solutions that are tailored to the communities who use the health services.
In the case of Auburn Hospital Redevelopment these solutions included significant collaborations with other sectors to create a Living Library that provides personalised user-friendly information and opportunities for cultural understanding. It also created a program of Poets in Residence who perform in various languages and English.
Keywords: culture, collaborative design, health promotion
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