Ending the single versus multi-bedroom debate: Hybrid rooms meet stroke rehabilitation needs
6 affiliations
- 1STRÜDAL, Centre for Design Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
- 2Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- 3The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
- 4The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
- 5La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
- 6The University of South Australia, UniSA Creative, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Abstract
Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and stroke rehabilitation plays a critical role in recovery. Early rehabilitation often occurs in a hospital setting, but the hospital built environment is rarely designed to support the specific needs and priorities of people who have had a stroke. In recent decades, there has been an ongoing debate regarding the benefits of single versus multi-bed rooms in healthcare settings. This debate centres around balancing privacy and rest, with social interaction and safety. While single rooms may be beneficial for some people, multi-bed rooms may be better for others. Both options, however, come with their own set of drawbacks in the context of stroke rehabilitation. In this study, we conducted a collaborative Living Lab to design a series of provocative-prototype hybrid room typologies that merged different aspects of single and multi-bed rooms to provide options specific for stroke rehabilitation. These typologies were used to generate four alternative bedroom designs which were modelled in virtual reality. The designs were informed by a values-based brief, outlining a set of predefined key criteria for optimising stroke rehabilitation environments: opportunities for activity and rest, wellbeing, safety, efficiency, flexibility, personal control, access to outdoors and green space, and access to a positive and stimulating environment. Twenty lived-experience and professional experts evaluated these virtual designs against the predefined values-based criteria. Evaluation revealed two preferred hybrid hospital room designs that incorporated beneficial features of both multi-bed and single-bed rooms. Our approach of values-based design and evaluation within a virtual environment proved an effective means of generating and evaluating design options with meaningful input from a wide range of stakeholders. These findings highlight the potential for flexible and adaptable room design to meet the specific needs and priorities of people participating in early-stage rehabilitation after stroke.
Related
- Moderate-intensity exercise versus high-intensity interval training to determine the optimal training intensity for walking rehabilitation in chronic stroke (HIT-Stroke Trial 2): a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
- Different rehabilitation destinations: non-clinical factors associated with inpatient rehabilitation versus skilled nursing placement.
- Efficacy of a smartphone digital therapeutic (re-R) for post-total knee arthroplasty rehabilitation: study protocol for a single-center randomized controlled trial in the Republic of Korea
- Rehabilitation programme for post-stroke lateropulsion including exoskeleton-assisted training: rationale and single-case experimental design protocol
- Hypnosis versus relaxation for anxiety in COPD pulmonary rehabilitation: a cluster-randomized trial
BibTeX
@article{white2026ending,
title = {{Ending the single versus multi-bedroom debate: Hybrid rooms meet stroke rehabilitation needs}},
author = {Marcus White and Mark Huen Choong Lam and Tianyi Yang and Ruby Lipson-Smith and Juan Pablo Saa and Aaron Davis and Mehrnoush Latifi Khorasgani and Julie Bernhardt and on behalf of NOVELL Redesign},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0356623},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0356623},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Ending the single versus multi-bedroom debate: Hybrid rooms meet stroke rehabilitation needs
AU - Marcus White
AU - Mark Huen Choong Lam
AU - Tianyi Yang
AU - Ruby Lipson-Smith
AU - Juan Pablo Saa
AU - Aaron Davis
AU - Mehrnoush Latifi Khorasgani
AU - Julie Bernhardt
AU - on behalf of NOVELL Redesign
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0356623
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0356623
AB - Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and stroke rehabilitation plays a critical role in recovery. Early rehabilitation often occurs in a hospital setting, but the hospital built environment is rarely designed to support the specific needs and priorities of people who have had a stroke. In recent decades, there has been an ongoing debate regarding the benefits of single versus multi-bed rooms in healthcare settings. This debate centres around balancing privacy and rest, with social interaction and safety. While single rooms may be beneficial for some people, multi-bed rooms may be better for others. Both options, however, come with their own set of drawbacks in the context of stroke rehabilitation. In this study, we conducted a collaborative Living Lab to design a series of provocative-prototype hybrid room typologies that merged different aspects of single and multi-bed rooms to provide options specific for stroke rehabilitation. These typologies were used to generate four alternative bedroom designs which were modelled in virtual reality. The designs were informed by a values-based brief, outlining a set of predefined key criteria for optimising stroke rehabilitation environments: opportunities for activity and rest, wellbeing, safety, efficiency, flexibility, personal control, access to outdoors and green space, and access to a positive and stimulating environment. Twenty lived-experience and professional experts evaluated these virtual designs against the predefined values-based criteria. Evaluation revealed two preferred hybrid hospital room designs that incorporated beneficial features of both multi-bed and single-bed rooms. Our approach of values-based design and evaluation within a virtual environment proved an effective means of generating and evaluating design options with meaningful input from a wide range of stakeholders. These findings highlight the potential for flexible and adaptable room design to meet the specific needs and priorities of people participating in early-stage rehabilitation after stroke.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -