Research has shown that introducing nature into large hospitals can humanize the institutional environment and reduce the stress of patients, visitors and healthcare providers.

One landscape architecture researcher at West Virginia University has a potential solution: Let nature in.

Research conducted by Shan Jiang showed that introducing nature into large hospitals can humanize the institutional environment and reduce the stress of patients, visitors and healthcare providers.

An associate professor at the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, Jiang utilized immersive virtual environments — digitally-created «worlds» that users are engrossed in — for a controlled experiment that asked participants to complete various wayfinding tasks.

All participants saw the same hospital layout and room arrangements. However, for one group, participants encountered large windows and nature views among the corridor walls. In contrast, the control group saw solid walls without any daylight or nature views. Participants in the greenspace group used shorter time and walked less distance to complete wayfinding tasks.

«In terms of spatial orientation and wayfinding, window views of nature and small gardens can effectively break down the tedious interiors of large hospital blocks,» Jiang said, «and serve as landmarks to aid people’s wayfinding and improve their spatial experience.»

The study also revealed that participants’ mood states, particularly anger and confusion, were «significantly relieved» in the greenspace group.

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Materials provided by West Virginia University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.