Occupant-centric indoor assessments and control solutions in healthcare facilities: a critical review of restorative perception

The primary function of healthcare facility environments is to support the recovery of its occupants. Numerous studies have examined how indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and physical design factors in healthcare facilities affect occupants and the effectiveness of control methods, respectively. However, results from independent studies on influential elements may conflict, lack transferability, and recoverability. Therefore, a holistic review on indoor environments and related control methods for healthcare facilities from the restorative perspective is needed. This study analyzes 249 articles to examine the indoor environment’s impact on residents’ restorative perceptions and related control behaviors. It also explores automation modeling methods across various healthcare settings. The results show that the setting of different environments and occupant roles in healthcare buildings can have an impact on the evaluation of the indoor environment. Indoor environmental factors are diverse but lack generalization, and existing standards and models fail to adequately address practical needs, highlighting the need for expanded cross-disciplinary research. Although qualitative evaluation and results on IEQ and physical design factors could be applied to satisfy some groups’ needs, there is a lack of quantitative, personalized and dynamic evaluation frameworks in current healthcare environments. Existing control methods are still predominantly manual, relying on personal literacy and perception, and lack integration and application with automated control technologies. To bridge this gap, this paper outlines future directions and designs a conceptual framework, offering insights for stakeholders on design standards and advanced technology applications to better align healthcare interiors with occupants' needs.