Photo by Pixabay via Pexels By Stephen Beech via SWNS Feng Shui design in hospital rooms may benefit patients, suggests a new study. Sometimes called Chinese geomancy, it is a traditional practice that originated in Ancient China and claims to use energy forces to "harmonize" people with their surrounding environment. While Feng Shui was not directly associated with lower anxiety in patients, the online study showed that virtual hospital rooms designed according to the principles of evidence-based design or the principles of Feng Shui - meaning "wind-water" - were associated with greater potential benefit for viewers than standard hospital rooms.
Study leader Dr. Emma Zijlstra said: "Hospital designers might consider employing specific design principles in an effort to improve patients’ experiences. "Growing evidence suggests there are beneficial outcomes from an approach known as evidence-based design.
For instance, exposure to more daylight in hospitals is associated with lower stress and pain. "Other well-known design approaches include Feng Shui, a Chinese system based on hypothetical energy flow, and the use of proportions following the golden ratio." But she said experimental evidence on their relative benefits in hospitals was lacking until now.
Dr. Zijlstra and her colleagues randomly assigned each of 558 study participants to view online representations and information about a virtual hospital room designed using one of four approaches: Feng Shui, the golden ratio,.
