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Designing For Dignity: Insights From Polish Palliative Care Providers on Hospice Interior Architecture Cover

Designing For Dignity: Insights From Polish Palliative Care Providers on Hospice Interior Architecture

Open Access
|Dec 2025

Abstract

This study explores key spatial features that support a dignified death, drawing on the perspectives of healthcare professionals involved in the delivery of palliative care. It argues that integrating care providers insights into the design process of hospice environments ensures alignment with the core philosophy of palliative care, thereby promoting the well-being of patients, their families, and caregivers. A quantitative survey was conducted using a questionnaire developed specifically for this study, targeting employees and volunteers of hospices in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The findings indicate that healthcare workers view inpatient hospices as the most appropriate settings for delivering end-of-life care. Respondents expressed a clear preference for interior designs that create a domestic, non-clinical environment, emphasized the critical importance of privacy, and suggested that single – or double-occupancy rooms are most conducive to patient comfort. In addition, the emotional and spiritual needs of patients were identified as central aspects that should be addressed through both care practices and spatial solutions. These results highlight the significant role of interior architecture in shaping environments that uphold dignity and provide a foundation for developing evidence-based design guideline for palliative care settings.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/acee-2025-0044 | Journal eISSN: 2720-6947 | Journal ISSN: 1899-0142
Language: English
Page range: 31 - 38
Submitted on: Dec 27, 2024
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Accepted on: Oct 27, 2025
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Published on: Dec 26, 2025
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

© 2025 Magda MATUSZEWSKA, Barbara LINOWIECKA, Hanna MUCHA, published by Silesian University of Technology
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 18 (2025): Issue 4 (December 2025)