The 7th Optimising Health Environments Forum
21 April 2021
Melbourne | Adelaide | Online
On 21 April 2021, NOVELL Redesign hosted the 7th Optimising Health Environments Forum. This forum brings together individuals from a range of backgrounds who are interested in the study and practice of optimising health environments. We’re excited to be able to share some of the presentations from the event with you below.
Part 1: New models of cross-disciplinary engagement:
This part of the forum included speakers from both industry and academia presenting on innovative co-design methods. The focus was on how we define and achieve true engagement, and on sharing experience engaging with disempowered groups, as well as indigenous and culturally diverse groups.
Co-design and collaboration: Fundamental skills of the future
Dr Niki Wallace
Director, Net Zero Lab
Dr Niki Wallace is the Director of Net Zero Lab and a Research Associate at the University of South Australia whose research focuses on co-design and circular economies. Niki works with regenerative and participatory processes to co-create experiments in just transitions and systemic change in consumption, waste, food and education.
First Nations peoples and cross-cultural design in healthcare settings
Dr Stephen Long
National Sector Leader – Public, Architectus
Dr Tim O’Rourke
Senior Lecturer, School of Architecture, University of Queensland
Dr Stephen Long Is the National Sector Leader – Public at Architectus, he was a lead designer on the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre, The University of Queensland. His Phd investigated Aboriginal concepts of place and heritage in North West Queensland.
Dr Tim O’Rourke is a senior lecturer in the School of Architecture at The University of Queensland where his research focuses on cross-cultural design. He has just completed a four-year Australian Research Council-funded research project that examined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s perceptions and experiences of different healthcare settings.
The Neuroscience Optimised Virtual Environments Living Lab (NOVELL) Project
Dr Ruby Lipson-Smith
Research Fellow, Manager, NOVELL Redesign Project, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
Dr Aaron Davis
Facilitation Manager, NOVELL Redesign Project, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
Dr Ruby Lipson-Smith completed her PhD in environmental psychology last year, exploring the design of facilities for stroke rehabilitation.
Dr Aaron Davis completed his PhD in Architecture in 2019, focusing on evaluating of the value of end-user engagement in living labs.
Part 2: Health Facility Design After the Pandemic
This part of the forum included speakers discussing the implications of the pandemic on health facility design. The speakers explored the ways in which design briefs already changing, and began to think about what other changes can we expect in the future as a result of COVID-19.
An overview of pandemic responses: Australia and International
Dr Jane Carthey
Vice-chair, Australian Health Design Council (AHDC)
Dr Jane Carthey is an architect and healthcare design researcher of over 35 years experience. She is a founder of the AHDC and currently working on some research projects with QUT and on short term health design contracts. Her recent doctorate focused on user groups designing healthcare facilities
Caboolture Hospital Redevelopment Project and pandemic design review
Sam Betros
Project Director, Caboolture Hospital Redevelopment Project, Metro North Hospital and Health Service
Sam has more than 10 years experience in the delivery of major health infrastructure in Queensland, having held senior leadership roles in the Sunshine Coast University Hospital project, the Herston Quarter project, including the new STARS public hospital, and currently as the Project Director of the Caboolture Hospital Redevelopment Project.
The unseen ecology of the healthcare environment
Prof Geraint Rogers
Director, Microbiome and Host Health Programme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI); and Matthew Flinders Professor, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University
Prof Rogers is a molecular microbiologist and microbial ecologist. He is the Director, Microbiome Research at SAHMRI, leads a laboratory based within the Flinders University School of Medicine, and is supported by a Matthew Flinders Research Fellowship. His research programme focuses on the contribution of human-associated microbiota to health and disease.
Part 3: Short Research Videos
This part of the forum was open to presentations from industry, early career researchers, and PhD students and allowed for the presentation of works in progress, and recently completed projects in a range of areas. This part of the forum demonstrates the breadth of work that is going on in this area and provides insights into some exciting work that is happening.
Inclusive Learning Spaces & Special Education Needs
Dr Ben Cleveland
Learning Environments Applied Research Network (LEaRN), The University of Melbourne
Co-designing AR/VR interventions to reduce anxiety in the perioperative patient journey
Nikou Javadi
Australian Research Centre for Interactive and Virtual Environments, University of South Australia
Depression and a lack of social interaction contribute to high levels of boredom in stroke rehabilitation
Katrina Kenah
School of Health Sciences, The University of Newcastle
The enduring benefits of designing acute health facilities specifically for the patient
Dr Rhonda Kerr
Rhonda Kerr & Assoc. Health Planning
Designing for palliative care
Dr Rebecca McLaughlan
School of Architecture and Built Environment, The University of Newcastle
Influencing factors on team communication in rehabilitation
Julia Paxino
Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne
Using VR to explore impact of hospital design features on people after stroke: A mixed methods study
Michelle Shannon
The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
Michelle’s presentation is currently unavailable due to an embargo on some presentation content.
