Occupant Comfort and Satisfaction in Green Healthcare Environments: A Survey Study Focusing on Healthcare Staff

Since the US Green Building Council introduced green building design strategies and measurement indicators as the name of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in 2000, different rating systems for various types of facilities have been developed. LEED for Healthcare that was initiated to improve healthcare buildings’ energy efficiency and sustainability is one of them. Yet, there is still a strong debate over whether LEED certified hospitals provide more comfortable environments for the staff to work in than the counterparts. The purpose of this study was to identify effective factors influencing healthcare occupants’ comfort and satisfactions through comparing the perceptions of the healthcare staff from green hospitals with those from conventional hospitals. The study mainly targeted nursing staff because they spend about eight hours daily in such environment to improve patients’ health outcomes. By comparing the perceptions of the healthcare staff from green hospital (or LEED-certified hospitals) and conventional non-LEED-certified hospitals, the results from this study showed significant differences between two types of hospitals studied. This study additionally reviewed these effective elements, examined if they were indoor environmental quality elements or interior design elements, and discussed if green healthcare environments actually contributed toward improving occupant’s comfort and satisfaction.