Health & body · 1984
Did recovery records differ between surgical patients with a nature view and those with a wall view?
Yes. At a suburban Pennsylvania hospital, 23 patients recovering from gallbladder removal in rooms overlooking nature had shorter postoperative stays than 23 matched patients in similar rooms facing a brick building wall. This comparison of patient records does not establish that the view caused the difference.
Details
Researchers examined recovery records from 1972–1981 to explore whether a natural window view might help patients recover after gallbladder removal. They compared 23 patients whose rooms overlooked a natural scene with 23 matched patients whose similar rooms faced a brick building wall.
Alongside shorter postoperative hospital stays, the nature-view group had fewer negative evaluative comments in nurses’ notes and took fewer strong pain medicines. The central finding is an association between a natural view and more favorable recovery records in this small hospital study. The abstract does not report how large the differences were or describe random assignment, so it cannot show that changing the view itself would improve recovery.
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