Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives". The aim of this Research Topic is to explore the relationships between the built environment (BE) and medical technologies and the potential of the BE to impact the quality and outcomes of care. For that purpose, we are reaching out to researchers across disciplines in order to get a 360 degree, holistic understanding of the BE in relation to technologies. We are also looking to examine the BE itself as a technology, as a system requiring organised knowledge and skills to improve people’s quality of life and health in accordance to the WHO definition.Healthcare built environments are more than the cell of healthcare provision. They affect the patients, the staff, the visitors and the community that uses them, as well as the infrastructure and technology used within them. Yet, the discussions about those spaces often happen in silos. The importance of technology in changing and affecting those spaces remains unmapped. The discussion about human technology interaction in the context of healthcare neglects the space of this interaction. Looking at either healthcare BE or healthcare technologies in a systemic approach, we expect to see disconnects which cause weak links, either from overlooking technologies and technological advancements when we design built environments or by creating technologies disconnected from the spaces that contain them or the virtual spaces generated by them. We are aware for example, how there is a lack of guidance to social housing associations and councils as to how to future proof their housings projects to facilitate for emerging technologies and coming end-user (resident) needs. Papers are expected from researchers from all disciplines of BE and architecture, medical architecture, computer science, healthcare planning, engineering, human computer interaction, data science, healthcare inclusively, but not exclusive.The goal of this Research Topic is to bring together a collection of interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary papers that individually and collectively investigate healthcare technologies in relation to the built environment where care is provided, or that look at the built environment as a technology aiming to better healthcare outcomes. We aim to address the “cadre effect” where healthcare takes place rather than an integrated part of a system. At the same time, looking at space as just a cell we overlook potential benefits deriving from generative space. Bringing these insights together, will shed light in one of the least researched and least integrated areas of the healthcare system, the BE and will promote seamless healthcare delivery where health technologies and space could create synergies. We aim to use this special issue as a pioneering piece of work to spearhead a new research subtopic that will bring together and have large impact to the healthcare and BE communities.We welcome the submission of manuscripts including, but not limited to, the following topics:• Healthcare equipment in relation to ergonomics and space• Transformation of the healthcare estate or the healthcare built environment as a result of technological innovation• Emerging technologies AI, VR/AR and the experience of the healthcare environment• Human factors and Human Computer Interaction in health and care environments• Space , place and/or the BE under the WHO definition of healthcare technologies• Technologies used to evaluate the healthcare BE, such as sensors and IoT
Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives". The aim of this Research Topic is to explore the relationships between the built environment (BE) and medical technologies and the potential of the BE to impact the quality and outcomes of care. For that purpose, we are reaching out to researchers across disciplines in order to get a 360 degree, holistic understanding of the BE in relation to technologies. We are also looking to examine the BE itself as a technology, as a system requiring organised knowledge and skills to improve people’s quality of life and health in accordance to the WHO definition.Healthcare built environments are more than the cell of healthcare provision. They affect the patients, the staff, the visitors and the community that uses them, as well as the infrastructure and technology used within them. Yet, the discussions about those spaces often happen in silos. The importance of technology in changing and affecting those spaces remains unmapped. The discussion about human technology interaction in the context of healthcare neglects the space of this interaction. Looking at either healthcare BE or healthcare technologies in a systemic approach, we expect to see disconnects which cause weak links, either from overlooking technologies and technological advancements when we design built environments or by creating technologies disconnected from the spaces that contain them or the virtual spaces generated by them. We are aware for example, how there is a lack of guidance to social housing associations and councils as to how to future proof their housings projects to facilitate for emerging technologies and coming end-user (resident) needs. Papers are expected from researchers from all disciplines of BE and architecture, medical architecture, computer science, healthcare planning, engineering, human computer interaction, data science, healthcare inclusively, but not exclusive.The goal of this Research Topic is to bring together a collection of interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary papers that individually and collectively investigate healthcare technologies in relation to the built environment where care is provided, or that look at the built environment as a technology aiming to better healthcare outcomes. We aim to address the “cadre effect” where healthcare takes place rather than an integrated part of a system. At the same time, looking at space as just a cell we overlook potential benefits deriving from generative space. Bringing these insights together, will shed light in one of the least researched and least integrated areas of the healthcare system, the BE and will promote seamless healthcare delivery where health technologies and space could create synergies. We aim to use this special issue as a pioneering piece of work to spearhead a new research subtopic that will bring together and have large impact to the healthcare and BE communities.We welcome the submission of manuscripts including, but not limited to, the following topics:• Healthcare equipment in relation to ergonomics and space• Transformation of the healthcare estate or the healthcare built environment as a result of technological innovation• Emerging technologies AI, VR/AR and the experience of the healthcare environment• Human factors and Human Computer Interaction in health and care environments• Space , place and/or the BE under the WHO definition of healthcare technologies• Technologies used to evaluate the healthcare BE, such as sensors and IoT