A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF SPATIAL CONFIGURATION AND COMMUNICATION RELATED STUDIES IN HOSPITAL SETTINGS

Hospitals are designed to provide efficient healthcare delivery. This has facilitated a lot ofresearch on the spatial configuration of hospitals and the subsequent effect on the delivery ofhealthcare. Also, research has shown the relationship between the spatial configuration ofhospitals and some physical and social outcomes in the hospital environment which contributein one way or the other to healthcare delivery. Recently, research has pointed out that mosterrors in healthcare delivery in Nigeria have been attributed to errors in communication.Thus,this study sought to conduct a systematic review of relevant literature on spatial configurationand communication-related concepts in Hospital settings. The systematic review was guided bythe following protocols namely: the theoretical framework (approach and focus), themethodology and the findings. Results, divided into two major categories research in spatialconfiguration and communication. This included a focus on the relationship between space andcommunication-related concepts and the influence of space on communication-relatedconcepts. Also, this paper found that communication as a concept in Hospital settings can beinterpreted into three subcategories namely social (Culture and social interactions),psychological (User Groups) and Technical (work processes and Healthcare outcomes). Thispaper concluded that most of the studies reviewed had focus on the technical aspects ofcommunication and or its relationship and influence on the spatial configuration of Hospitalswith a more comparative approach to gathering, analysing and interpreting data. This paperrecommends that the focus of spatial configuration and communication-related studies shouldshift to the social and psychological categories in the Hospital environment to build anddevelop more robust and evidence-based theory.