Identifying measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in outpatient clinics

Purpose This study aims to investigate the physical environmental problems of two Thai community hospitals’ outpatient departments (OPDs) during the COVID-19 outbreak and to provide design guidelines for respiratory disease prevention. Design/methodology/approach A three-step method was used. The first step involved walk-through observations at Mae Wang Hospital and Doi Saket Hospital to assess the physical environment. The second step consisted of interviews with 22 medical staff working in the two hospitals. Third, the observation and interview data were used to develop a preliminary design guideline, which was evaluated by two focus groups comprising the same interview participants. Findings The observational findings showed that the two hospitals had difficulties following the COVID-19 prevention protocol due to physical environmental problems. Four different themes emerged from the analysis of the medical staff interviews. The preliminary design guidelines that were evaluated through two focus group discussions resulted in design recommendations for four areas (the overall building, clinical, support and staff areas) in the Mae Wang and Doi Saket OPD buildings. Three topics of design recommendations were provided to reduce the spread of COVID-19: improving hospital management, space design and air quality. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to provide design guidelines for COVID-19 and respiratory disease prevention in Thai community hospital OPD buildings.