The Light- and Environment Project in Psychiatric Inpatient Care

The care environment influences both patients' experiences of care as well as staff's experiences of the work environment. A radical change in physical environment is planned at a psychiatric ward, aiming at creating a care environment that supports patients' opportunities for recovery from mental ill-health and to create a better and more attractive work environment for the staff. The rebuilding involves a new ward layout and new innovations such as light installations, a comfort room and an activity room.

The study uses a single-system design to evaluate the effects of the intervention - the rebuilt ward. Both quantitative and qualitative data will be used in the evaluation. Data will be collected using questionnaires measuring dimensions of patients' well-being and experiences of the care environment, staff's experiences of work-related stress and work environment, quality of care, a device measuring physical activity, existing clinical registers and data from medical files, staff' sick leave, participant observations, and semi-structured interviews.

This evaluation study, to our knowledge the first of it's kind in Sweden, is expected to generate important knowledge of the effect of the change process that can be used at other psychiatric wards to design the inpatient care environment. In the long run, the study could lead to a better reputation of psychiatric nursing and to more attractive workplaces.