Hospital Users' Perception on Therapeutic Green Spaces in the General Hospital Environment Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

Generally, the hospital environment should provide therapeutic benefits for health and provide comfort to patients, staff, and visitors. However, in Nigeria, the non-integration of therapeutic spaces into the hospital environment has resulted in a serious setback in the quick recovery of patients. It has been observed that general hospitals in Nigeria lack therapeutic green spaces within the hospital environment. This study investigates the adequacy of the hospital environment to trigger therapeutic impact and aid the recovery of patients in Abuja, Nigeria. This study's objective is to evaluate hospital users’ perceptions towards therapeutic spaces in the general hospital environment in Abuja with a view to aiding the recovery of patients. A descriptive research method was used, whereby a purposive sample strategy was adopted to choose the hospitals to get the required information on the impact of therapeutic green spaces on hospital users. The sampled participants received a total of 347 structured questionnaires, of which a total of 280 were retrieved. In addition, 10 staff members were interviewed about the maintenance and existence of green spaces. To ascertain the effect of therapeutic spaces on the patients' health and recovery, the data was analysed using a 5-point Likert scale. Findings reveal that most hospital users regard therapeutic spaces in the hospital environment as a result of their impact on health recovery. The research therefore recommends that landscape architects adopt proper design considerations to accommodate therapeutic green spaces in the design and planning of hospital environments. Adequate measures should be taken to ensure that therapeutic green spaces are present and maintained within the hospital setting.