Getting into medical institutions, people often feel uncomfortable because the hospital environment is alien and unfamiliar. Often the seasoned, uncomfortable, cold atmosphere of hospital rooms scares people and significantly complicates the recovery process. In modern times, along with improving the quality of patient care and the creation of the latest treatment equipment, medicine is increasingly considering the improvement and humanization of the environment (Busch et al., 2019). It is essential to consider all possible needs of the patient and create the most favorable design that will help ensure a quick recovery, comfort, and safety. The humanization of medical care also includes medical workers and the quality of their services. These are not all areas that need to be humanized so that patients do not associate medical institutions with “cold” and unfriendly places. Although the modern medical environment strives to become humanistic, it is still necessary that some aspects of healthcare be transformed for the needs of patients.
The problem of humanism in medicine has been discussed since the appearance of this type of activity. After all, it is essential to understand the boundaries that a doctor faces when they provide medical care to their patients. The founder of the tradition of humanism in medicine is considered to be the doctor Hippocrates (de la Fuente-Martos et al., 2018). It is he who owns the first works on deontology. The subject of medicine is a person as a person, i.e., not only their physical health but also mental, as well as social ties, and the natural environment. Humanism is love for a person and faith in their limitless possibilities and abilities for self-improvement. Medicine is a humanitarian science and carries a special mission of systematic study and cognition of man in all their integrity.
The highest principles of humanism are most clearly manifested in medicine. Humanity, helping one’s neighbor, probably originated in the era of the primitive communal system. With the development of healing, the rules and duties of the doctor concerning the patient began to appear (de la Fuente-Martos et al., 2018). Of course, the ideas of humanism became the basis for the formation of medical ethics and deontology. At all times of the development of human society, the concepts of humanism have influenced, to one degree or another, the development of medicine and education. The modern era, with a new round of development of treatment, and medical technologies, requires a thorough study of people’s opinions on these issues and further development and promotion of the ideas of humanism in society.
An important area that requires humanization is the relationship between patients and medical personnel who directly provide care. Employees of medical institutions should learn to respect and empathize with patients to humanize care as much as possible (Busch et al., 2019). It is necessary to understand that each person is a separate person who has their own individual needs, and it is imperative to pay attention to help the patient recover. Some patients, as a result of their illnesses, may feel inferior and unhappy because of their diseases (Busch et al., 2019). In this case, the medical staff should create such conditions and build their psychological approach so that patients feel better and do not worry because they have temporarily lost functionality. Medical staff should help ensure that patients feel safe even while in a medical facility.
One of the main directions in the humanization of relations between patients and medical staff is respect because patients are as autonomous as possible and can make decisions related to their treatment, recovery, and hospital stay. An empathic and respectful attitude towards patients and the desire to make their stay in the clinic as comfortable as possible will give patients an understanding that they are safe. Nurses are entrusted with one of the most critical responsibilities, namely, the humanization of the medical environment (de la Fuente-Martos et al., 2018). Patients will be able to achieve a more effective and rapid recovery because they will understand that they are in the hands of a responsible, empathic person who observes moral and ethical principles. In addition, nurses and doctors are required to respect the culture and ethnic origin of patients for patients to feel themselves in a humanized environment.
It is essential that nurses show the same attitude to all patients and remain unbiased throughout their work. Medical staff should ensure fair treatment of all patients and be patient, empathetic, and caring (Kvande et al., 2022). This will help to create a humanized atmosphere in which patients will feel comfortable and cozy, which will give them the opportunity to recover more successfully and not be in a state of stress (de la Fuente-Martos et al., 2018). In turn, medical professionals should also be calm and not on the verge of professional burnout so that they can provide patients with the best care. Psychological support, competent motivation, and provision of everyday human needs will help nurses feel good and have a beneficial effect on the lives of patients in a medical institution.
Employee training is also one of the critical elements for the humanization of the hospital environment. This is necessary so that, against the background of the latest research and the latest developments, nurses can provide the highest quality care to patients (Busch et al., 2019). It is significant for people staying in hospitals to receive highly qualified assistance from medical personnel, as this will help them recover faster and more successfully. Nurses need to learn how to build care, and doctors should compose their work in such a way that they are adapted to the needs of the patient.
Equal access to medical services will also have a significant positive impact on the well-being of patients. Humanization includes appropriate medical care and cares for any person, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, etc. Equal access will also reduce the number of deaths and serious illnesses that can cause suffering to patients (Busch et al., 2019). Nevertheless, the medical staff must make the right decisions, for example, when the patient is on routine inpatient treatment and in the intensive care unit. In such cases, saving lives will play a more significant role than the usual care of patients who are undergoing treatment. Although there are patients who are in a normal state of illness, as well as emergency patients who require immediate medical care, hospital management must provide the necessary number of nurses (Kvande et al., 2022). High-quality care is very important for patients in intensive care, but for those who are also undergoing treatment in a hospital, it is imperative not to feel deprived of the attention of medical staff.
The humanization of care has become the basis for an approach to quality patient care, as it is focused on the personality of each person. Patients who are in a medical institution are deprived of home comfort and peace, which can have a significant negative impact on their recovery. One of the main directions of the humanistic approach is that the environment in which they are located should satisfy the emotional and value needs of the patient (Busch et al., 2019). The growth of the role of the patient is one of the most integral parts of the development of medicine in recent times. More and more hospitals are being “humanized” for patients to feel in a comfortable environment and recover more successfully and efficiently (Kvande et al., 2022). Humanism asserts the value of a person as a person, their right to freedom, happiness, development, and the manifestation of their abilities.
In current conditions, the medical education system has a great responsibility to counteract negative trends by correcting the overall value and professional stereotypes. In addition, it is essential to introduce a systematic policy of training new generations of medical workers. The development of humanism in medicine is conditioned by caring for the patient, empathy, and compassion for what people suffering from the disease and being far from home feel (Meneses-La-Riva et al., 2021). In general, the humanization of medical institutions is aimed at helping patients recover, providing them with living conditions that will contribute to the improvement of their self-esteem.
Humanization should also concern medical personnel, including doctors and nurses. Doctors and nurses should be able to recover their strength, study, and rest so that emotional burnout does not disrupt their ability to think correctly. In addition, each member of the medical staff should develop and be formed as a humane person (Meneses-La-Riva et al., 2021). They should be characterized by mercy, compassion, responsibility, a sense of duty, and the principle of respect for the individual. They should also have a love for their profession, a culture of communication, attentiveness, the principle of solidarity, and mutual assistance in the medical team. The humanitarian component of education and the formation of an integral personality plays an important role and, of course, the humanization of medical education.
The environment of a medical institution is a part of a person’s living environment, into which they fall under certain conditions. On the one hand, if their professional activity is connected with it, on the other hand, they need medical care (Kvande et al., 2022). The progress in the movement from an experimental punitive approach to a humanistic one is most noticeable if considering the external transformation of clinics. Hospitals-prisons isolated from the world of healthy people are a thing of the past. Today, the most progressive clinics are more like art galleries or centers for creative activities (Bates, 2018). When designing children’s clinics, architects are actively experimenting with color. Sometimes faith in color therapy remains almost the last chance, a desperate attempt to influence the health of young patients and inspire hope for recovery in children and their parents (Bates, 2018). The architecture of the new clinics harmoniously fits into the style of business centers in megacities or mimics eco-settlements in picturesque, protected areas.
For a successful recovery, it is essential for people that the architecture of the building maintains contact with the outside world. There are no blind fences and barriers, and views of the garden or park are open from the windows and terraces (Meneses-La-Riva et al., 2021). Interiors should form and maintain a sense of well-being, be homely, relaxing, aesthetic, and distracting, but at the same time, with straightforward, intuitive navigation. Long formal corridors, lack or an insufficient number of places to wait and rest, confusing long routes, and the gloomy or dull environment — all cause patients severe discomfort (Meneses-La-Riva et al., 2021). It is essential for patients that the environment is as inclusive as possible because when a person is in a dependent state due to illness, any simple actions that they can perform without assistance emphasize their autonomy.
Preparing the patient for surgery, various medical manipulations, bypassing the attending physician, and providing the patient with information about the state of health – should be aimed at relieving emotional stress and improving the patient’s well-being. Building the department’s work schedule, considering the interests of patients (Bates, 2018). The relationship between patients and medical professionals, namely attentive and sensitive attitude to patients, the search for friendly contact, the inadmissibility of negligence, and tactlessness, are an essential part of the recovery of patients. The question of the influence on a person of the peculiarities of the surrounding environment of a medical institution can be considered from the perspective of the therapeutic effect of this environment. The concept of “environment therapy” implies that a medical institution’s conditions and the patient’s interaction with the environment can contribute to their recovery (Bates, 2018). In this case, the atmosphere is everything that surrounds the patient in the institution and is an integral factor and conditions of hospital stay, treatment, and rehabilitation. The therapeutic environment combines a variety of activities and effects on the patient.
In conclusion, the humanization of the hospital environment plays a significant role in recovering patients and their well-being while in a medical institution. For the healthcare environment not to seem cold and scary for patients, it is necessary to humanize medical institutions as much as possible. This can be done by establishing positive relationships between medical staff and patients. Nurses should contribute as much as possible to the well-being of patients admitted to the hospital, but the medical staff must be rested and calm. If nurses are tired and their basic needs are not met, they will not be able to provide quality patient care. In addition, the interior and the environment in medical institutions are essential, as they impact the well-being of patients. Empathy, psychological support, and the creation of comfortable living conditions are integral elements of the humanization of the medical environment.
References
Bates V. (2018). ‘Humanizing’ healthcare environments: Architecture, art and design in modern hospitals. Design for Health, 2(1), 5–19. Web.
Busch, I.M., Moretti, F., Travaini, G, Wu, A., & Rimondini, M. (2019). Humanization of care: Key elements identified by patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. A Systematic Review. The Patient – Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, 12(1), 461–474. Web.
De la Fuente-Martos, C., Rojas-Amezcua, M., Gómez-Espejo, M., Lara-Aguayo, R., Morán-Fernandez, E., & Aguilar-Alonso, E. (2018). Humanization in health care arises from the need for a holistic approach to illness. Medicina Intensiva, 42(2), 99-109. Web.
Kvande, M., Angel, S., Nielsen, A. (2022). “Humanizing intensive care: A scoping review (HumanIC)”. Nursing Ethics, 29(2), 498-510.
Meneses-La-Riva, M., Suyo-Vega, J.A., & Fernández-Bedoya, V.H. (2021). Humanized care from the nurse–patient perspective in a hospital setting: A systematic review of experiences disclosed in Spanish and Portuguese scientific articles. Frontiers in Public Health, 9(7375060), 1-10. Web.
