| Title |
A Research on the Waiting and Resting Behaviors of Children in the Outpatient Clinic of a Children's Hospital - Focused on the Comparative Analysis between Children with and without Disabilities - |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK_PD.2017.33.12.41 |
| Keywords |
Waiting and Resting Behavior ; Children With and Without Disabilities ; Children's Hospital ; Outpatient Clinic |
| Abstract |
This study investigates the waiting and resting behaviors of children within a restorative healthcare facility design. In particular, the aim is to compare children with and without disabilities and reveal similarities and differences in terms of their behavioral characteristics and uses of design facilities, related to positive distraction, for restoration in the hospital. Three major common spaces for outpatients in S children's hospital in Seoul were examined including the main lobby and two waiting and resting spaces in the pediatric and rehabilitation medicine departments, respectively. A total of 155 children under the age of 12―67 with physical disabilities and 88 without―were observed while they waited and rested at the three spaces before or after doctors' examination. Basic demographic information and waiting and resting behavioral characteristics were compared between the two groups. The results indicated that the disabled children were more restricted in terms of space, facilities used, and social behaviors. However, regardless of disabilities, the children showed more positive distractions related to cognitive and social behaviors in areas where restorative design elements such as an aquarium, garden, or visual images were available. Based on the results, design implications were discussed to strengthen positive distraction behaviors in children with and without disabilities and to foster the restorative quality of the spaces for waiting and resting in the children's hospital. |