The Role of Patients' Psychological Comfort in Optimizing Indoor Healing Environments: A Case Study of the Indoor Environments of Recently Built Hospitals in Sulaimani City, Kurdistan, Iraq.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates how patients and medical staff assess the physical environments of two recently built hospitals in Sulaimani City to understand the extent to which indoor environmental factors influence the creation of an optimal healing environment. BACKGROUND: A contemporary healing environment may be recognized by the quality of an indoor environment in positively influencing patients' psychological comfort and supporting their recovery. METHOD: Post-occupancy evaluations were conducted in Shar General Hospital and Faruk Medical City wards. A 43-item questionnaire was distributed to 312 patients, doctors, and nurses to gather their perspectives. In total, 175 valid questionnaires were retrieved. RESULTS: The results show that the quality of the indoor environments met patients' psychological needs and expectations, and as a result, they were generally satisfied with the indoor healing environments. The findings from the patient and medical staff surveys suggest three essential factors in creating a healing environment, which are (1) Interior appearance, (2) Privacy, and (3) Comfort and control. Significant negative correlations of some demographic characteristics, such as educational attainment and age, with patient satisfaction were observed. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that exploring patients' and medical staff's experiences can reveal factors that positively influence patients' satisfaction levels, which may vary depending on their sociocultural perspectives and personal characteristics. Additionally, the findings emphasize the role of the tested factors in increasing patients' satisfaction levels, optimizing healing environments, and informing design decisions.