Crit Care Resusc
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Recommendations exist to guide the design and construction of adult intensive care units, but current guidelines are hampered by the paucity of high-quality research. Much of the current literature on ICU design has focused on patient-centred outcomes, such as nosocomial infections, aspects of psychological and physiological wellbeing, and patient satisfaction, but the design of the ICU environment also affects health care workers. ⋯ For most aspects of ICU design, more research is required before definite conclusions can be drawn. This article discusses the application of evidence-based design to improve the ICU environment and reviews some of the controversial issues and concepts.