Salutogenic architecture in healthcare settings

Abstract

The term ‘salutogenic’ is widely used in healthcare architecture, even though very few healthcare architects have much of a handle on what the term means. Here, we clarify the key concepts of salutogenesis, demonstrate how they work and show how they have been designed into healthcare facilities to yield exemplary results. The central idea is that there are three resources that combine to provide a Sense of Coherence—a forward thrust that resists the entropic forces of illness and infirmity. The sense of coherence is made up of resources that improve manageability—the capacity to maintain homeostasis and physical function; resources that improve comprehensibility—an ability to negotiate circumstances in order to maximise their benefit; and resources that enrich a sense of meaningfulness—the desires, causes and concerns that give us the need to resist illness in the first place.