Forms of environmental support: The roles that contemporary outpatient oncology settings play in shaping patient experience

ABSTRACT This article examines key aspects of built environment that shape the experience of patients undergoing intravenous anti-cancer treatment within outpatient settings. Eighteen patients or former patients participated in a series of in-depth interviews across two healthcare sites and two consumer groups in Victoria, Australia. Interviews were semi-structured with questions exploring the meaning and significance of patient experience of the hospital-built environment, as well as architectural aspects important for their wellbeing. Following a systematic thematic analysis, four themes highlighting the main contributions of contemporary healthcare design to patients’ experiences were synthesized. This ranged from the role of built environment in shifting negative expectations and inducing positive impressions, to its role in breaking up the intensity of treatment when feeling overwhelmed and provoking engagement in activities beyond treatment and being sick. The discussion also considers the role of built environment in attending to patients’ individual needs and treatment-related vulnerabilities. The findings expand existing theories of a supportive healthcare environment with further understanding of its potential constituent elements. They point to a refined, and more comprehensive, conceptual understanding of the way the built environment may promote wellbeing.