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A Review of the Empirical Literature on the Relationships Between Indoor Environment and Stress in Health Care and Office Settings

Problems and Prospects of Sharing Evidence

University of Kansas

Craig Zimring

Georgia Institute of Technology

A conceptual framework linking indoor environment and stress is provided. The framework suggests that, in many cases, indoor environments may set forth a process leading to stress by affecting individual and/or workplace needs. The framework also suggests that because any direct causal relation between indoor environment and stress may be difficult to establish, researchers should focus more on the evidence that links indoor environment to individual and/or workplace needs. This review focuses primarily on the evidence that relates indoor environment to individual and/or workplace needs in health care and office settings. It shows a growing body of literature addressing these relationships in both settings. However, because the available evidence is uneven, there is a great need for the sharing of knowledge among researchers of these settings. In this regard, differences in organizational factors, user and workplace needs, and physical settings are some issues that need to be carefully considered.

Key Words: indoor environment of health care and office settings • stress • noise • lighting • ambient temperature • air quality

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