Department of Design, The University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76201, USA.
HERD. 2009 Spring;2(3):6-28. doi: 10.1177/193758670900200302.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of color as a component of a healing environment for pediatric patient rooms. Color preferences from pediatric inpatient, pediatric outpatient, and healthy children groups were investigated and compared for group and gender differences.
Positive environmental stimulation can promote patient well-being by reducing stress or negative feelings. If environmental colors can have positive influences, then those colors will make patients more comfortable, reducing their stress. Although previous color studies are suggestive, none has focused on pediatric healthcare environments. Patients' health status may affect their reaction to environmental stimulation. There was a gap in the body of knowledge regarding the consistency of color preferences with regard to patient health status.
A simulation method was used because of its reliability and feasibility. It allowed for investigating the value of color in real contexts and controlling confounding variables. Previous color preference studies typically have been done with small colored squares of paper, which are visually different from seeing a color applied on wall surfaces. In addition, they failed to control confounding variables such as color attributes and light sources.
Group differences were not significant. This refuted the hypothesis that the color preferences of pediatric patients are different from those of healthy children. However, overall color preferences showed that the healthy children group had higher mean scores of color preferences than both pediatric outpatients and inpatients groups. Gender effects were identified across all three groups.
All three groups showed similar color preference patterns, except for yellow. Both pediatric outpatients and inpatients preferred yellow less than healthy children did. Healthy children's mean scores of color preferences were higher than the pediatric outpatients; the pediatric outpatients group had higher mean scores of color preferences than the pediatric inpatients group. Although this observation was not statistically significant, it raised the question of whether the sickest pediatric patients respond differently to color than healthy children do. Gender effects indicated that girls preferred red and purple more than boys do. Regardless of gender effects, healthy children and pediatric patients preferred blue and green the most and white the least. These results can help healthcare providers and professionals better understand appropriate colors for pediatric populations.
本研究旨在探讨颜色作为儿科病房治疗环境组成部分的价值。调查了儿科住院患者、儿科门诊患者和健康儿童群体对颜色的偏好，并比较了群体和性别差异。
积极的环境刺激可以通过减少压力或负面情绪来促进患者的幸福感。如果环境颜色可以产生积极的影响，那么这些颜色将使患者更加舒适，减轻他们的压力。尽管之前的颜色研究具有提示性，但没有一项研究关注儿科医疗保健环境。患者的健康状况可能会影响他们对环境刺激的反应。关于患者健康状况与颜色偏好一致性的知识体系存在空白。
由于其可靠性和可行性，使用了模拟方法。它允许在真实环境中研究颜色的价值，并控制混杂变量。之前的颜色偏好研究通常使用小的彩色纸方块进行，这与在墙壁表面看到颜色有很大不同。此外，它们未能控制颜色属性和光源等混杂变量。
组间差异不显著。这反驳了这样一种假设，即儿科患者的颜色偏好与健康儿童的不同。然而，总体颜色偏好表明，健康儿童组的颜色偏好平均得分高于儿科门诊患者和住院患者组。在所有三个组中都发现了性别效应。
除了黄色外，所有三个组都表现出相似的颜色偏好模式。儿科门诊患者和住院患者对黄色的偏好均低于健康儿童。健康儿童的颜色偏好平均得分高于儿科门诊患者；儿科门诊患者组的颜色偏好平均得分高于儿科住院患者组。尽管这一观察结果在统计学上并不显著，但它提出了一个问题，即最生病的儿科患者对颜色的反应是否与健康儿童不同。性别效应表明，女孩比男孩更喜欢红色和紫色。无论性别效应如何，健康儿童和儿科患者最偏爱蓝色和绿色，最不喜欢白色。这些结果可以帮助医疗保健提供者和专业人员更好地了解儿科人群的合适颜色。
