1.5 ConEd Learning Hours
10:45 a.m. ‐ 12:15 p.m.
Natural environments in healthcare design are thought to promote health. However, empirical research in long‐term care (LTC) has been limited and the degree of rigour mixed, focusing on older adults with little research on healthcare staff. This presentation will share findings from an investigation that examined the relationships between the natural environment and the mental health and well‐being of older adults living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (residents) and of their healthcare staff in LTC homes.
This mixed‐method investigation included a scoping review, a Delphi panel, cognitive debriefing interviews, psychometric evaluations, multilevel modelling, and regression analyses.
The session explores a conceptual framework to develop a shared understanding of the natural environment in healthcare facilities, a new survey to evaluate the natural environment in LTC homes, and statistical findings relating to the influence of the natural environment on outcomes of older adults and healthcare staff in LTC homes. Knowledge learned from this presentation can facilitate multidisciplinary planning meetings, environmental research, pre‐ and‐post occupancy evaluations, and evidence‐based design decision‐making. Using research evidence will optimize and equip LTC environments with a greater potential for healthier outcomes.
Learning Objectives
1. List the primary considerations in evaluating the natural environment in LTC homes.
2. Describe the significant relationships between the natural environment and outcomes relating to older adults' mental health and well‐being in LTC homes.
3. Report the significant relationships between the natural environment and healthcare staff's mental health and well‐being in LTC homes.
4. Identify a critical components and benefits to engaging in health‐promoting evidence‐based designs.
Peggy Chi, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow
Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
Dr. Peggy Chi is a licensed landscape architect whose work focuses on research, knowledge mobilization (i.e. bridging academic research to practice), and using evidence to inform the design and decision‐making of aging environments. She integrates methodologies from landscape, architecture, health services research, dementia care mapping, and organization management to transcend disciplinary boundaries in research and practice. She works as a postdoctoral fellow, leading knowledge mobilization and research initiatives on long‐term care environments at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, and she provides consulting services to healthcare providers as a design strategist. She serves on the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects' (CSLA) Human Health & Well‐Being Committee and publishes her research in peer‐reviewed journals. Ottawa Life Magazine published a story about her work on enabling and empowering environments for older adults.
Prior to health services, she worked in landscape and architecture design firms on civic, historical, and corporate parks, revitalization master plans, transportation and retail infrastructures, and commercial and residential towers. Inspired by the growing aging population, she completed a comprehensive mixed-method investigation in 83 long-term care home areas to help improve the quality of life and work-life in long-term care. Evidence from her research informs ongoing and upcoming redevelopments and new constructions of long-term care settings.