%0 Journal Article
%T Evaluating the impact of a ward environment with 20 single occupancy rooms and two four-bedded bays on patient and staff experiences and outcomes in an acute NHS Trust: a mixed-methods study protocol.
%A Ataiyero Y
%A Stimpson E
%A Hall H
%A Ashby H
%A Dube A
%A Carter V
%A Smith HA
%A Ross A
%A Copping J
%A Morris P
%A Jones S
%J BMJ Open
%V 14
%N 8
%D 2024 Aug 6
%M 39107022
%F 3.006
%R 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-085528
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Traditionally, wards in acute care hospitals consist predominately of multioccupancy bays with some single rooms. There is an increasing global trend towards a higher proportion of single rooms in hospitals, with the UK National Health Service (NHS) advocating for single-room provision in all new hospital builds. There is limited evidence on the impact of a ward environment incorporating mostly single and some multioccupancy bays on patient care and organisational outcomes.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>This study will assess the impact of a newly designed 28-bedded ward environment, with 20 single rooms and two four-bedded bays, on patient and staff experiences and outcomes in an acute NHS Trust in East England. The study is divided into two work packages (WP)-WP1 is a quantitative data extraction of routinely collected patient and staff data while WP2 is a mixed-methods process evaluation consisting of one-to-one, in-depth, semistructured interviews with staff, qualitative observations of work processes on the ward and a quantitative data evaluation of routinely collected process evaluation data from patients and staff.<BR><B>BACKGROUND: </B>Ethical approval was obtained from the UK Health Research Authority (IRAS ID: 334395). Study findings will be shared with key stakeholders, published in peer-reviewed high-impact journals and presented at relevant conferences.