Interior Design Faculty to Conduct Groundbreaking Patient and Operational Safety Design Research Alongside EYP, Inc

The research will attempt to address two major issues in American healthcare: patient safety and the cost of healthcare operations.

Interior Design professor at Texas Tech University, Debajyoti Pati, Ph.D., has been awarded a grant from architectural consulting firm, EYP, Inc, to conduct research concerning patient safety and operational safety of hospitals through physical design.

Unlike traditional grants that often require an application process, Dr. Pati was approached by EYP to lend his expertise to the company's in-house research unit, which is conducting the initial research study. EYP – a large architectural consulting firm with strong expertise in the healthcare design sector – was chosen by New Jersey healthcare provider, Hackensack Meridian Health, as its architectural/engineering consultant for a new hospital, Ocean Medical Center.

As explained by Dr. Pati, Hackensack Meridian Health is attempting to address two major issues in American healthcare through the new facility designs of Ocean Medical Center: patient safety and the cost of healthcare operations.

"The physical design of hospitals directly and/or indirectly affects numerous aspects of patients' safety such as hospital acquired infections, patient falls, medical errors, patient information security and more," Dr. Pati said. "Similarly, clinical operations are directly affected by the physical design of healthcare spaces, such as layout."

Assisting Dr. Pati in his research will be two Interior and Environmental Design doctoral students – Apoorva Rane and Iman Pirzadeh. Both Apoorva and Iman's duties will include data analysis and literature search and review, among others. Not only will this experience help them obtain a more in-depth understanding of the relationships between physical design and safety, as well as operational costs, it will also enable them to make valuable industry contacts.

The impact the study will have on their career goals is also one that Apoorva and Iman have spoken positively about. Not only will the research allow them to identify opportunities that will positively affect individuals, organizations and society, but it will also help steer their career aspirations.

"As an emerging environmental designer and healthcare researcher, I want to conduct empirical research explaining the measurable impact of the built environment with scientific techniques," Apoorva said. "Working and learning alongside with Dr. Debajyoti Pati, Ms. Laurie Waggener, and the team has been a knowledgeable experience for me and will be invaluable for my professional development."

Iman also added that learning more about the physical spaces in healthcare design and how that impacts the experiences of patients and healthcare providers is of particular interest to him. Research alongside such a diverse team, he said, will add to his success as a design researcher in his future career.

As for the impact of the joint research study on Texas Tech University and the College of Human Sciences, Dr. Pati said it fits within one of the university's strategic focus areas.

"The Department of Design has a healthcare design focus in its graduate program," Dr. Pati said. "Health is one of the strategic areas of Texas Tech. Our department has already built a reputation for research excellence in the healthcare design domain. This project will help us further solidify our reputation."