Behaviour and outdoor setting preferences at a psychiatric hospital

This study investigated staff and patient preferences for outdoor behaviours and settings and the relationship between the attributes of ideal settings and setting preferences at a 312-bed psychiatric hospital in Guelph, Ontario. Seventy-four subjects (50% staff and 50% patients) rated a number of preferred behaviours and ranked a range of environmental settings on the hospitalʹs 48 acres of grounds. The study subjects responded to questions presented using a proprietary interactive computer survey located in one of the secure hospital wards. Data collection and analyses were conducted automatically without the investigators being present. Images of outdoor settings were ordered along two dimensions from built to natural and open to enclosed. Frequencies of first choice settings were analyzed by preferred behaviour. Both staff and patients selected natural – open settings for passive behaviours such as sitting and viewing scenery, and natural – enclosed settings for active behaviours such as walking and talking with others. Few statistically significant differences were found between staff and patients for preferred settings and/or behaviours. The study results demonstrated a consistent preference among participants for certain setting dimensions, particularly when combined with certain preferred behaviours.