BU researcher secures grant to investigate the link between nursing home architecture and health outcomes

Diana Anderson, MD, M.Arch, assistant professor of neurology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, has received a $270,418 grant from the Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation for her project "Investigating the Relationship between Nursing Home Architecture and Health Outcomes." The two-year grant, through the foundation's Another Look program, is one of four that was awarded this year.

Despite growing recognition of how a manmade structure impacts health, little is known about how nursing home design influences resident outcomes. Anderson's project addresses that gap by testing a novel, replicable strategy to assess associations between evidence-based design and outcomes.

Anderson will use architectural drawings and interviews with nursing home leaders to generate archetype data that captures both design features and real-world space which will help support residents, caregivers and staff. "This information will then be linked to administrative data to examine associations between evidence-based features (such as walkable layouts and accessible social spaces) and important and costly resident-centered outcomes related to ambulation, physical function and neuropsychiatric symptoms," she explains.

The Donaghue Foundation is proud to support research that advances improved health outcomes for older adults. This project addresses a critical yet often overlooked factor in care quality: the design of the places where older adults live and receive care. By examining how nursing home architecture directly influences resident wellbeing, this work has the near term potential to inform decisions that improve care delivery and environment design. It reflects our commitment to supporting research of practical benefit, translating evidence into changes that add real value to practice."

Shamira Chappell, MPH, the foundation's program manager

Anderson is a board-certified healthcare architect and geriatrician. As a "dochitect," (doctor + architect) she combines educational and professional experience in both medicine and architecture. She has worked on hospital design projects globally and is widely published in architectural and medical journals and books. She is a frequent speaker about the impacts of healthcare design on patient outcomes, staff satisfaction and related topics.

Anderson received her bachelor of science in architecture and master of architecture degrees from McGill University in Montreal before pursuing her MD from the University of Toronto. She completed a residency in internal medical at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and a clinical geriatric fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. She completed an advanced fellowship in geriatric neurology and research at the VA Boston Healthcare System under the guidance of Andrew Budson, MD, professor of neurology at the school.

A past fellow at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics, she continues to explore space design and ethics, especially in the context of nursing homes and institutional living for older adults. She has been elevated to the Council of Fellows within the American College of Healthcare Architects for her contributions to the profession.

The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation supports a diverse portfolio of research projects, from understanding the mechanisms of disease, to improving clinical treatments, to public health initiatives that prevent illness-all founded on excellent science.