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Design for Resiliency

Nursing Home Design and COVID-19: Balancing Infection Control, Quality of Life, and Resilience

October 11, 2021 / Dochitect / Design for Geriatrics, Design for Resiliency, Health Design & Ethics

Presentations

Event: American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) 2021 Convention and Expo, Washington, DC
Speakers: Diana Anderson MD M.Arch, Thomas Grey Dip.Arch.B.Arch.Sci.MArch., Desmond O’Neill MD
Date: October 11, 2021

Nursing Home Design and COVID-19: Balancing Infection Control, Quality of Life, and Resilience

Many nursing home design models can have a negative impact on older people, and these flaws have been compounded by COVID-19 and related infection-control failures. There is now an urgent need to examine these models and provide alternative and holistic models that balance infection control and quality of life at multiple spatial scales in existing and proposed settings. Moreover, there is an understanding that certain design models and approaches that improve quality of life will also benefit infection control, support greater resilience, and in turn improve overall pandemic preparedness.

3 Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion, participant will be able to:
1) explain the overall impact of the built environment on nursing home residents in terms of quality of life  
2) understand the main built environment related infection control issues that have arisen during COVID
3) explain how certain design approaches and models can be use to balance infection control while improving quality of life

Conference Presentations

No Place Like Home: As the pandemic proved, long-term care homes are a health hazard

September 1, 2021 / Dochitect / Design for Geriatrics, Design for Resiliency

Commentaries

Publication: Zoomer Magazine
Date: Published in print and online Aug/Sept 2021
Author: Nora underwood
View Article

As the COVID-19 pandemic proved, long-term care homes are a health hazard. In this Zoomer Article, Nora Underwood investigates how better building design can help.

Excerpt: For Dr. Diana Anderson, design is a parameter of care, as important as other determinants of health, such as where you live and what you eat. “We don’t talk about that a lot, but buildings have a huge impact on us,” says Anderson, a Boston-based doctor and architect who calls herself a “dochitect.” “It’s almost akin to a medical intervention. It has that much of an impact on people.”

Read the full article HERE.

Commentaries

Designing for Healthcare Sustainability: A Framework

August 3, 2021 / Dochitect / Design for Resiliency, Design for the Future of Health

Blog Post

Publication: American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)
Title: Designing for Healthcare Sustainability: A Framework
Date: Published online August 3, 2021
Author: Diana Anderson, Principal, Jacobs & Shari Blanch, Architectural Graduate at Jacobs
View article

Excerpt:

Traditionally, concepts related to sustainable design focus on the co-existence of both the natural and the built environments, often conjuring up images related to saving our earth: planting trees, building wind farms, collecting pollution from the ocean. Over the last few decades, the concept of sustainability has gained traction in the design community with building rating systems and standards alongside the emergence of professional credentialing.

There is a recognized need to expand the facets of holistic, sustainable design given the complex challenges within healthcare. Usually, three pillars of sustainability are considered to include economic, social and environmental dimensions. In this blog post, we propose and describe a fourth: systems sustainability.

The traditional pillars of sustainability: social, environmental and economic, in addition to systems sustainability in the context of healthcare. Sketch by: Shari Blanch

Read the full article HERE.

Blog Post

Symposium on Sustainability in Healthcare – Architectural Design as a Determinant of Heath

May 25, 2021 / Dochitect / Design for Resiliency, Design for the Future of Health, Evidence-Based Design

Presentations

Event: Symposium on Sustainability in Healthcare
Title: Architectural Design as a Determinant of Heath
Date: May 25, 2021

KEYNOTE LUNCH – 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Keynote Presentation: “Architectural Design as a Determinant of Health”

Presenter: Diana Anderson, MD, M.Arch

Our understanding of the role the environment plays in shaping health has expanded immensely over the last few decades. A growing body of empirical data and evidence-based design research demonstrates that architecture impacts care delivery as well as health outcomes.

This talk explores built space as an important determinant of health and questions whether the built environment itself should be considered alongside other parameters of care, analogous to our medical interventions. Historical examples of the convergence of hospital architecture and medical practice exist. The design of the tuberculosis sanatorium during the early 20th century illustrates this infrequent intersection; the healthy building emphasizing contact with nature, developed to prevent the spread of contagions.

In the context of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we can revisit past models and consider new and sustainable innovations to emphasize infection prevention and control. A current focus on design equity, ensuring overall accessibility to healthcare-built space, is explored through universal design principles. It is imperative that we consider a convergence of the healthcare and design disciplines in order to promote novel solutions to augment-built environment resilience and subsequently support equitable, safe and efficient care delivery.

More information about the event is available HERE.

Keynote Presentations

How will COVID-19 Change Healthcare Design?

January 1, 2021 / Dochitect / Design for Infection Control, Design for Resiliency

Commentaries

Publication: Design Museum Magazine
Date: Published in print and online Winter 2020
Author: Diana Anderson, MD, ACHA & Matthew Holmes, ARB, RIBA
View article

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has tested the overall resilience of our health system infrastructure to cope with increased demand. It has also brought the importance of design and the built environment to the forefront when considering emergency preparedness and infection control.

Now, nine months into the pandemic, there have been lessons learned from the immediate challenges of medical facility design, in addition to ongoing discussions of the long-term changes which are likely to impact how, where, and when we access our care.

Read the full article HERE.

Commentaries

JHD Editorial – Widening the lens: Clinical perspectives on design thinking for public health

November 25, 2020 / Dochitect / Design for Clinical Staff, Design for Patient Safety, Design for Resiliency

Peer-reviewed publication

Publication: The Journal of Health Design
Publication Reference: Vol 5, No 3 (2020): The Year Like No Other
Authors: Bassin BS, Nagappan B, Sozener CB, Kota SS, Anderson DC

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has created opportunities for innovation, ingenuity, and system reengineering. The next big investment in health care should be intentional and embedded partnerships between clinicians, designers, and architects who can collaborate to help solve health care’s greatest challenges.

“We think it is time to support a paradigm change and advocate for healthcare’s next big investment: intentional and embedded partnerships between clinicians, designers, and architects with dedicated resources to ensure an effective collaborative environment to help solve healthcare’s greatest challenges.”

Read the full editorial HERE.

Listen to the podcast with the authors HERE.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Nursing Home Design and COVID-19: Balancing Infection Control,Quality of Life, and Resilience

October 31, 2020 / Dochitect / Design for Geriatrics, Design for Infection Control, Design for Resiliency

Peer-reviewed publication

Publication: JAMDA – The Journal of Post-Acute and Long Term Care Medicine
Publication Reference: COVID-19 Special Article| Volume 21, ISSUE 11, P1519-1524, November 01, 2020
Authors: Anderson DC, Grey T, Kennelly S, O’Neill D

Abstract
Many nursing home design models can have a negative impact on older people and these flaws have been compounded by Coronavirus Disease 2019 and related infection control failures. This article proposes that there is now an urgent need to examine these architectural design models and provide alternative and holistic models that balance infection control and quality of life at multiple spatial scales in existing and proposed settings. Moreover, this article argues that there is a convergence on many fronts between these issues and that certain design models and approaches that improve quality of life, will also benefit infection control, support greater resilience, and in turn improve overall pandemic preparedness.

Access the full article HERE.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Doctor Hustle Podcast – Episode 12

October 1, 2020 / Dochitect / Design for Resiliency, The Physician-Architect Model

Presentations

Title: Doctor Hustle Podcast – Episode 12
Podcast: Doctor Hustle
Date: September 22, 2020

Doctor Hustle Podcast
Episode 12 – Dr. Diana Anderson

Today’s guest is an accomplished, multi-talented clinician that made me think a lot about the design of the buildings of where I work after our conversation.

Dr. Diana Anderson is a healthcare architect and a board-certified internist. As a “dochitect”, Dr. Anderson combines educational and professional experience in both medicine and architecture. She has worked on hospital design projects globally and is widely published in both architectural and medical journals, books, and the popular press. She is a frequent speaker about the impacts of healthcare design on patient outcomes and staff satisfaction. And as the co-founder of the Clinicians for Design group, she seeks to inspire clinicians to improve the design of their environments and systems.

Listen to her ideas and I am sure you’ll look at the place you work, the clinic or hospital, a little bit differently. I know I do.

Listen to Episode 12 HERE.

Podcasts

A New Peace of Mind – a podcast episode on the changing meaning of security in 2020, including our health

September 22, 2020 / Dochitect / Design for Clinical Staff, Design for Patient Safety, Design for Resiliency

Presentations

Title: A New Peace of Mind
Podcast: Pacific Content
Date: September 22, 2020

Episode Summary

2020 has been a year of instability and upheaval, so it’s no surprise many of us have been especially focused on our security. And that comes in many forms – securing our health, our homes, our finances, and even our digital lives. We used to talk about ‘safety in numbers’ – but during the pandemic as we’ve been in quarantine and isolation, we’ve had to rethink what security looks and feels like today. In this episode, hosts Shannon Murphy and Erin Shea explore how this need for fortification has been accelerated by work-from-home orders and lockdowns, and how this year has changed our idea of security for good.

Episode Notes

2020 has been a year of instability and upheaval, so it’s no surprise many of us have been especially focused on our security. And that comes in many forms – securing our health, our homes, our finances, and even our digital lives. We used to talk about ‘safety in numbers’ – but during the pandemic as we’ve been in quarantine and isolation, we’ve had to rethink what security looks and feels like today.

In this episode, hosts Shannon Murphy and Erin Shea explore how this need for fortification has been accelerated by work-from-home orders and lockdowns, and how this year has changed our idea of security for good.

Featuring Dominic Lester, Jefferies’ European Head of Investment Banking, and Ramin Safai, Jefferies’ Global Head of Information Security.

Also featuring:

  • Christian Cerda is the CEO of Simplisafe.
  • Thomas Smyth is the founder and CEO of Trim.
  • Diana Anderson is a “dochitect,” a MD and M.Arch who specializes in the design of healthcare spaces.

Listen to the full podcast HERE.

Podcasts

Physician Engagement and Perspective in the Lean Facility Design Process

September 16, 2020 / Dochitect / Design for Clinical Staff, Design for Resiliency

Presentations

Event: 6th European Healthcare Design 2020 Congress, Awards & Exhibition
Presentation type: Poster presentation, Lean Design
Presenters: Ben Bassin, MD, Cemal Sozener, MD, MEng, Diana Anderson, MD, M.Arch, Juliet Rogers, PhD, MPH
Date: September 16, 2020

Clinician involvement is essential to the success of any healthcare design project centered around patient care delivery. Practicing physicians can contribute valuable clinical knowledge to healthcare design projects to ensure the final product meets desired patient care goals.

There are many challenges in obtaining optimal physician engagement in longitudinal design projects, including time constraints, differing priorities, competing interests, insufficient knowledge of design and development process and understanding the value of their contribution.

Because many challenges exist to optimizing physician participation in the process, balancing the perspectives of both the practicing clinician and the healthcare administrator and healthcare consultants are paramount in creating successful healing environments.

Conference Presentations
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Recent Articles/Publications

  • Built Environment Design Interventions at the Exits of Secured Dementia Care Units: A Review of the Empirical Literature

    October 9, 2022
  • HERD Editorial: Evidence, Bioethics, and Design for Health

    May 5, 2022
  • The Bioethics of Built Space: Health Care Architecture as a Medical Intervention

    May 1, 2022

Recent Presentations

  • Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics: If Architecture Influences Health Outcomes, How Should Healthcare Systems Respond? Bioethics at the Frontier of the Science of Design

    January 20, 2023
  • UT Southwestern Ethics Grand Rounds: Exploring the untapped nexus of ethics and health facility design

    January 10, 2023
  • The Center for Health Design EBD Journal Club: Built Environment Design Interventions at the Exits of Secured Dementia Care Units

    December 8, 2022

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