Designing LTC Physical Work Environments to Support Worker Well-Being: A Review and Recommendations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fisher, Gwenith G. ; Goldman CM ; Loder AL ; Rider TR ; Schwatka, Natalie V. ; Van Dyke MV
• Description:
  Objectives: Well-designed, health-promoting physical work environments have the potential to reduce burnout and attrition for employees who work in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Unfortunately, there is limited existing guidance for LTC facility owners and operators related to specific health-promoting design strategies for LTC work environments. This narrative review aims to fill this knowledge gap. Methods: Information was synthesized from healthy-building certification standards for health care and non-health care buildings, LTC design guidelines, academic studies, and expert commentaries. The review was conducted in 3 phases to (1) identify specific space types and design characteristics generally considered to be health-supportive, (2) gather existing research on the identified strategies to critically analyze their supportive value, and (3) communicate the findings to a broad audience of stakeholders. Results: Five specific space types and 21 design characteristics were identified as both supportive of employee health and well-being, and relevant to LTC physical work environments. Conclusions: When health care organizations construct new facilities or renovate existing facilities, using these health-promoting design strategies should be considered. Benefits of health-promoting physical work environments include better employee mental and physical health, less burnout, and less turnover. Reducing burnout and increasing employee retention is essential to mitigate the ongoing staffing crisis in the LTC industry. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Promotion Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Long-term Care Built Environment Burnout Design Standards Employee Well-being Health Care Facilities Health Promotion Mental Health Restorative Design Well-being Work Environment Workplace Design

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• ISSN:
  1525-8610
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta Region [OSHA] ; Colorado ; Denver Region [OSHA] ; North Carolina
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  26
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070310
• Citation:
  J Am Med Dir Assoc 2025 Jan; 26(1):105326
• Contact Point Address:
  Cedra M. Goldman, MPH, Colorado School of Public Health, 13001 East 17th Place, 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
• Email:
  cedra.goldman@cuanschutz.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  University of Colorado, Denver
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:06b5a7bb4367613ec7331f71d2bb343ac96cd056d5aefcc9c25cd511283a2b6bb8c7987fc20b17d541969c585d5a6f008a89b3bb9798c28b85b6cb117f4a11a2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208548/cdc_208548_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 726.54 KB ]