How to choose artwork to aid better recovery

Today hospitals have started incorporating their own permanent art programs which have colored the walls, ceilings and exteriors of their facilities. Indeed, artwork should always and at all places be forethought when designing or renovating your health care environment to support goals of pain management or wholesome and rapid recovery with fewer side effects. A few essential things to consider when choosing your work of art are:

• What is the purpose of the given space?
Whether the available space is where the patient will spend a considerable amount of time such as an imaging room, or a simple examination room that requires less ‘waiting’ time. Artwork that captures viewers’ interest and imagination with an immediate diversion from the cold, hi-tech and bleak hospital equipment are ideal whereas simple scenes are well suited for areas where patients do not feel a lot of stress and discomfort.
• What is the patient’s expected state of mind when present in this room? As we all know blue and green are the best colors that soothe and calm, it makes sense to utilize them in relaxing, restful scenes in radiation and chemotherapy rooms that make patients quite anxious and agitated. Warm colors like reds, oranges and yellows are wonderful for areas where you need to energize the patients such as a room for physiotherapy or orthopedic departments.
• What will be the duration of the treatment for the patient in this room?
An absorbing picture or scene with a lot of detail is wonderful for areas that will require a long waiting period for the patients. Scenes of moving water (like a waterfall) may stimulate bladder response for patients who have to keep a full bladder for specific ultrasound or scans while it could also raise stress in someone who is asked to refrain from drinking water as before an operation.

• The seriousness of the patient’s malady? Definitely, a terminally ill patient would be irritated to have an abstract art or vibrant picture of jaunty boats in his room. Even religious art is better avoided as the patient may not follow the same beliefs. Soothing green and lush foliage is a good option as the color is associated with harmony, nature, hope and relief from pain. It is also believed to assist in lowering blood pressure, heart conditions, asthma, back problems and sleeplessness.

It is really so easy to plan your artwork to maximize the positivism in your health care environment and assist quicker, healthier recoveries; once you begin to understand the psychological implications encoded in art, the way it is perceived in the health care situation, and how to utilize it in a therapeutic manner.