About this Event
Background and Objectives: Healthcare organizations and designers increasingly integrate gardens and other outdoor spaces to promote the health and well-being of patients, visitors, and staff. These spaces should be designed according to the best available evidence and evaluated to ensure that intended outcomes are achieved.
To date, no validated instruments evaluate gardens in acute care hospitals. To address this gap, the Garden Assessment Tool for Evaluators (GATE) was developed as a standardized instrument for researchers, designers, and healthcare providers.
Methods: The 86-item GATE instrument was based on an exploration of existing literature review, audits, and design guidelines, as well as conversations with and input from experts in the field. It was tested at 25 healthcare-related landscapes for scoring and interrater reliability using Kappa, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and percentages of agreement.
Results: The GATE demonstrated high content and convergent validity and good construct validity. Convergent validity was supported by a high correlation between two different scoring methods. Interrater reliability was supported by interrater agreement ranging from 36% to 100% and high Kappa scores.
Discussion: Lower-than-expected ICC scores were likely due to missing values and limited variability with some items, as well as logistical issues with the specific test gardens. Future work should include deletion and/or modification of items that received low ICC and percentage of agreement scores; further evaluation in more diverse facilities and for specialized populations; and the creation of a user manual and formalized training program.
Speaker Bio: Naomi A. Sachs, PhD, is a tenured professor and affiliate faculty in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Maryland. Dr. Sachs is also Founding Director of the non-profit organization, the Therapeutic Landscapes Network. Sachs’ interdisciplinary research focuses on therapeutic and salutogenic landscapes and evidence-based design. Her book Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces, co-authored with Clare Cooper Marcus, is considered a foundational text. Dr. Sachs moved from Washington, DC to Suffolk, England in January, 2026.
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Event venue & nearby stays
ECA Boardroom (L.05) North East Studio Building, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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