D. Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, FACHA, has been named co-editor of the new Health Environments Research & Design Journal. Hamilton is a fellow and associate director of the Texas A&M College of Architecture’s Center for Health Systems & Design and an associate professor in the Department of Architecture.
The journal’s first issue was unveiled Nov. 2, 2007, at the Healthcare Design.07 conference in Dallas. Hamilton is co-editing the journal with Jaynelle F. Stichler, an associate professor of nursing at San Diego State University.
Hamilton specializes in evidence-based design for health care, and the relationship of facility design to organizational performance.
HERD is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal whose mission is to enhance the knowledge and practice of evidence-based health care design by disseminating research findings, discussing issues and trends, and translating research to practice.
The journal, supported by A&M’s Center for Health Design, will advance HERD’s vision to improve health care outcomes as a result of enhancing health care environments for those receiving and giving care.
The makeup of the journal’s editorial board reflects its commitment to an interdisciplinary design process with representatives from health care, the design industry, environmental and behavioral psychology, neurosciences, systems and organizational effectiveness, art and music fields, and other contemporary fields.
It’s unique in that it will feature evidence-based articles for health environment design and outcomes related to organizational performance and the human experience.
In the journal’s first issue, there’s an article on the design of nurse stations, how studies show that patient outcomes may be worsened by intra-hospital transport, and how nursing unit design influences informal communication patterns, on the job learning and job stress and satisfaction.
HERD’s Web site is http://www.herdjournal.com/ME2/Default.asp
