Biophilic design in hospitals and its mitigation effect on the mental well-being of patients and healthcare workers.

This thesis is focused on research in the sphere of biophilic design in hospital areas (hospital rooms, waiting rooms, break-out rooms, and other spaces inside hospital structures). A literature review has been carried out to understand how the presence of biophilic elements influences mental well-being, and in particular, the stress and anxiety levels for patients and healthcare workers. As the methodology, we have analysed 29 papers published from 2008 to 2026 from 13 countries. To ensure a broad overview of the development of biophilic design in healthcare settings, the search started with papers published in 2008; meanwhile, the final studies were published in April 2026. The literature review was divided into 2 categories: biophilic design and its stress-mitigation effect on patients, and biophilic design and its stress-mitigation effect on healthcare workers. Among the biophilic design elements, the following categories have been analysed: window views and vistas, indoor vegetation (including VR exposure), light, colours, blue spaces, and biophilic art design elements. Not all of them were present for the healthcare workers group. As one of the important conclusions, it was stated that window views were supposed to be the most frequent biophilic design elements with broad and effective stress-mitigation influence among both groups.