Debajyoti Pati, PhD, a professor of environmental design in the College of Human Sciences, earned a $98,619 grant from the AHRQ to further his research into how hospital design can reduce the occurrence of patient falls.
“This grant will focus on prioritizing the previously identified physical design interventions so hospitals and long-term care facilities can optimize available capital funds in incorporating physical design solutions to reduce falls,” said Dr. Pati.
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The grant comes after a similar award from the National Patient Safety Foundation, which allowed Dr. Pati to identify the physical design elements in hospital rooms that contribute to patient falls. Dr. Pati’s team discovered falls frequently occurred when elderly patients engaged in hospital room activities involving pushing, pulling, turning and grabbing. Design elements associated with these movements included bathroom configuration, bathroom door, and the toilet seat and grab bars among others.
“Based on AHRQ’s longstanding commitment to improving patient safety, we know several factors are important to keep patients safe,” said Kerm Henriksen, senior adviser for human factors and patient safety at AHRQ. “Texas Tech and Dr. Pati’s work should further expand our understanding of risks in the physical environment and suggest strategies to address those risks and make care safer.”
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