Healthcare Scientist Technical Team
Published on 24 September 2026
The Healthcare Scientist Technical Team are a multidisciplinary research team dedicated to providing evidence that supports the development of NHS Scotland Assure's technical guidance and advice on the technical aspects of the healthcare built environment. Our work helps ensure that patients, their carers, and healthcare providers operate in a safe, effective, and person-centred healthcare built environment.
What we do
We conduct a wide range of literature reviews, including systematic, scoping and rapid reviews:
- systematic reviews aim to comprehensively identify, assess, and synthesise all available evidence on a well-defined question or set of questions, typically where the topic is well established and a high level of rigour is required.
- scoping reviews are particularly useful for mapping existing evidence, helping understand the breadth of research, especially in emerging areas.
- rapid reviews follow streamlined processes to deliver timely evidence where a faster response is needed, often supporting urgent decisions.
Our literature reviews follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines for systematic and scoping reviews to support transparency and replicability. Click to learn more about our literature review process or watch the video here.
Additionally, we work closely with subject matter experts to conduct primary research on the healthcare built environment, such as post-occupancy evaluations.
Collaboration
Collaboration with subject matter experts is embedded throughout our literature reviews and research projects. This ensures our projects are informed by expert insight and fosters shared understanding of the emerging research and review findings.
We work closely with teams across NHS Scotland Assure, Scottish Government, NHS Boards, and other national bodies. Where relevant, we also collaborate with clinical colleagues to deliver projects.
Our output
Our literature reviews and primary research are not guidance documents in themselves. Rather, they are produced to provide the evidence base that underpins the technical guidance and advice issued by NHS Scotland Assure on the healthcare built environment.
Research Tools and Resources
The Built environment Experimental studies Critical Appraisal Tool (BECAT) was developed by the NHS Scotland Assure Healthcare Scientist Technical Team to support the critical appraisal of non-human experimental studies within the built environment. BECAT is currently undergoing reliability and validation testing. The findings from this work will be used to further refine the tool and evaluate its suitability for wider use.
Publications
Literature reviews
- Systematic literature review: Impact of room design on length of stay
- Literature review: Fire suppression, water-based sprinklers
Peer-reviewed publications
- Impact of the design of adult mental health inpatients facilities on healthcare staff: a mixed methods systematic review
- The role of the built environment as a therapeutic intervention in mental health facilities: a systematic literature review