Samenvatting

A hospital visit is often an anxious and uncertain event for patients and their relatives. Patients are often concerned about a diagnosis and/or the treatment of their disease in an outpatient or inpatient setting. In these hospital settings, the impact of the environment on patients is still not well understood. Knowledge regarding the inuence of the hospital environment on patients is essential for facilitating the quality of health care. Understanding the experience of patients will allow designers and decision-makers in hospitals to positively inuence the well-being of patients. The aim of this thesis was to gain an improved understanding about a more holistic experience and well-being of patients at specic focal points of the entire patient journey from the arrival, to the diagnosis, and to the actual treatment in a hospital. For example, results showed that patients sometimes experience diculties in finding their way to an outpatient clinic, that nature projection during a CT-scan can reduce anxiety, and that (the opportunity of) interaction with other patients is a pleasant distraction or, on the contrary, an invasion of their own privacy. Understanding patients' experiences during the patient journey enables hospitals to make more informed decisions about space and services which enables us to improve experiences and well-being of patients in hospitals. This thesis emphasizes the relations between the hospital environment and the psychosocial and physical well-being of patients. The results show that it is of great importance to listen carefully to patients’ experiences and needs when designing a hospital as many of the results showed individual dierences with patients that emphasize that one size does not t all. The well-being of patients in future hospitals can be improved by aligning the hospital environment with individual patient characteristics, needs, and preferences.