Healthcare and the Psychology of Colour

The Power of Colour 

Health and wellness are more than simply an absence of disease and illness. They are the convergence of a complex combination of one’s physical, mental, emotional, and social wellbeing. Good design can support people’s holistic wellbeing within any given space. 

Colour plays a pivotal role in guiding patients' experiences of different areas within healthcare and good design has the potential to transform highly medicalised spaces into calming, healing environments where patients feel safe and reassured. Colour, more broadly speaking, impacts how people perceive their surroundings. In a more specific context, colour and colour variance can have a significant impact on the way that visually impaired patients and patients with dementia are able to successfully navigate within any given environment.  

The Research 

While there is limited data on the effects that specific colours have on patient experiences, there is growing recognition that colour and design are powerful tools in the healing process. This is supported by a developing body of research into people’s emotional responses and experiences in healthcare.

A 2021 published paper, titled “Positive Effect of Colours and Art in Patient Rooms on Patient Recovery After Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty,” documented a randomised, controlled study that included a group of 80 patients. The patients, who were undergoing complete hip or knee replacements, were divided into two groups – a control group and an intervention group. The intervention group was randomised and assigned coloured patient rooms, while the control group received medical care in conventional patient rooms. Data was collected pre-operatively, as well as post-operatively, at both 3 and 6 days after operation. The study measured mood, anxiety and depression, quality of life, and pain. They found that there were significantly better quality of life summary scores measured in the intervention group compared to the control group, indicating that the use of colour in hospital rooms is an effective intervention that can lead to both better patient outcomes and faster healing times.¹ 

Colour is a fundamental element in the design of any environment and is inextricably connected to people’s psychological, physiological, and social reactions to a space. While the evidence surrounding people’s emotional and psychological responses to specific colour palettes is mostly anecdotal and influenced by age as well as cultural and geographical factors, this study showed that colour and art can, and do, have a measured impact on a patient’s healing process. In addition to this, the importance of colour is still widely recognised, as is the belief that colour does have meaning to most individuals. 

A 2008 literature review titled ‘The Health Impacts of the Design of Hospital Facilities on Patient Recovery and Wellbeing, and Staff Wellbeing’ recommends the use of cool colours to promote relaxation, warm colours to energise, and neutral colours to minimise distraction. It further suggests that contrasting colours should be used as an alert for potential hazards and to attract attention to other features.²

 “There is no question in my mind that a calming, healing environment helps patients deal more effectively with their pain.”

- Michael Henderson, physician and Cheif Medical Officer at University of Mississippi Medical Centre

“The idea that a building’s layout, furniture, and décor influence patients’ medical experience isn’t new. It’s something we innately felt,” says Debra J. Levin, executive vice president of the Centre for Health Design, a non-profit group for designers, healthcare executives, and product manufacturers in Pleasant Hill, Calif.³

NURTURE 

Using warm colours, dedicated to humanising healthcare spaces, this reassuring, calming palette helps put patients at ease. Soft, gentle tones can create a homely atmosphere and have a soothing effect on patients experiencing long stays. Additionally, colour can act as visual cues to identify different spaces, while patterns in highly trafficked areas can help people orientate themselves, improving safety and reducing stress by making it easier for people to find their way. 

NATURE 

Humans instinctively seek connection with the natural world, and incorporating elements of nature into healthcare design can offer significant healing benefits. The earthy tones of the nature-inspired colour palette can help to provide patients with a calming and reassuring environment. There are many ways to incorporate elements of nature into healthcare design, including maximising natural daylight by installing large windows and tubular daylighting devices, nature-themed art, nature-inspired colour palettes, and natural elements. 

CONNECT 

This palette embraces simple, refined, and contemporary colours that reflect the advanced level of care offered, while simultaneously humanising a highly medicalised environment. The juxtaposition of smooth, straight lines with soft, organic curves further reinforces this design aesthetic. White is used, pure and undiluted, and combined with more formal colours to strengthen their overall impact. 
 

References:

1.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8921019/ 
2.https://www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/populationhealth/PH_environments/pdf/Rpt_Liverpool_Redev_Design_Impact.pdf 
3.https://www.brikbase.org/sites/default/files/chd_color_in_hc_environ.pdf 
 

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