الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Interior finishes are important aspects of the healthcare facilities
environment. Floors and walls coverings are the major elements
that play an essential role in keeping a healthy environment inside
various spaces of hospitals. Thus, it is necessary to give a priority
to the selection criteria of finishing materials during the design
process. In other words, healthcare facilities require special spec-
ifications for interior spaces and finishing materials to prevent
problems such as moisture penetration, water infiltration, and
the growth of mildew and mould that is considered one of several
elements responsible for occurring Hospital-Acquired Infections(HAIs). Therefore, the purpose of this research is to evaluate the
influence of using Nano-materials in providing healthy, comfort
environment for both patients and workers in healthcare facili-
ties.
The research was conducted based on visual observations and
interview with managers of four hospitals in Egypt to collect data
about the existing conventional used materials and the problems
they are facing, followed by aggregating the results of evaluation
studies conducted on these materials to select the best materials
in terms of six criteria. Based on the analysis of the evaluation
results, it was found that the materials used in these hospitals
showed the best performance in comparison with other materi-
als; however, these materials face some observed defects such as
craks, tire marks, peeling, and scratchings. Therefore, the results
of different laboratory tests conducted on nano-materials in pre-
vious studies were analysed to prove the using of nano-technology
in improving the characteristics and the performance of the tra-
ditional materials against bacterial inhabitation on surfaces of
various spaces through coating some materials with specific nano-
materials or mixing nano-materials with the components of some
used materials. As an example of applying such technology in
interior design, data about five hospitals in other regions were
obtained from government agencies and web pages as hospitals
in Egypt did not apply this technique yet. Those hospitals ap-
ply nano-materials on finishing materials in their interior design
to evaluate their impacts in term of environmental impact and thermal comfort. The evaluation data emphasized that nano-
materials significantly improve the functionality of the existing
materials when added to them through coating or mixture.
Finally, it was concluded from the various data mentioned in
the study that nano-materials can solve the problems appeared
on the existing conventional materials because they can change
their components and increase their resistance to infection trans-
mission and bacterial inhabiting. Also, applying nano-materials
on the used ones can generally provide a healthy environment
which is not suitable for the growth of bacteria or fungus. There-
fore, it is recommended to implement Nano-materials in Egyptian
hospitals as a solution to the occurred defects and increase the
awareness of interior designers and architects about the benefits
of these materials to encourage them use the nano-technique.