Doctoral student Marzia Chowdhury awarded research funding to further future pandemic knowledge

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas doctoral student in the School of Architecture & Design has received a prestigious research award from the California-based Center for Health Design, which supports researchers whose work is filling gaps in evidence-based design for health care.

Marzia Chowdhury, who is studying in the health care design program in the KU Department of Architecture, received a Joseph G. Sprague New Investigator Award for her doctoral dissertation study, “Emergency Department Design for Pandemic Conditions: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Her research will investigate multiple emergency departments (EDs), including The University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City; Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida; and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. The work will determine how innovative design strategies in these hospitals allow them to successfully adapt their environments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The award provides Chowdhury with up to $10,000 for publication and dissemination of her findings.

“There is a lack of rigorous research that has collected evidence regarding the design,” she said of emergency room adjustments since the start of the pandemic, including which design strategies have worked. “We don’t get the chance to look back to see if what we’ve done previously is working or not.”

To ensure hospitals can respond to any future pandemic situations, Chowdhury said this work is critical. “There will be always some kind of emerging infectious diseases outbreak. This research is not only addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, but also about what could be the design feature for various kinds of infectious diseases outbreak. The lessons that we learn from the experience can help inform better future design.”

Chowdhury said she became interested in health care design through the work of her adviser, Hui Cai, associate professor and chair of the architecture department and director of research for KU’s Institute of Health + Wellness Design.

“KU is one of the few universities in the United States that has a very solid health care program,” Chowdhury said. “I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with several national experts in the health care domain, including Dr. Frank Zilm, Dr. Kent Spreckelmeyer, Dean Dr. Mahbub Rashid and Dr. Hui Cai, who are leading this program.

Chowdhury also thanked Bryan Imhoff, KU assistant professor of medicine, and Joel Mendez, assistant professor in KU's Urban Planning Program, who served on her dissertation committee.

“Because of the health care program, the work environment and the wonderful mentors I have, it definitely inspired me to conduct innovative and leading research in health care design,” she said.

Experts in the field said her work is timely.

“It’s very important to the field of health care as the ongoing pandemic has fundamentally challenged how the health care environment and particularly the emergency department should be designed,” Cai said.

Chowdhury was also named 2022-2023 Griffin/McKahan/Zilm (GMZ) Graduate Fellow in Health Facility Planning and Design from the Foundation for Health Environments Research, which will cover some of her research expenses. In addition, Cai, who is the principal investigator, and Chowdhury were awarded with an additional $30,000 in grant funding through the American Institute of Architects, Academy of Architecture for Health and Foundation for Health Environments Research Fellowship to support the work.

“Studying how various EDs respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, to understand the impacts on ED operations during the pandemic, will fill a significant gap in existing knowledge,” Cai said. “This study will provide evidence-based design recommendations through the unique approach of adopting retrospective studies and predictive analytics and combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Instead of relying on temporary solutions and quick workarounds for ED renovation during pandemics, this research will provide a more sustainable and long-term solution for EDs to have built-in flexibility and adaptability in concert with the ED disaster preparedness plan. These solutions will allow EDs to be better prepared to respond to future pandemics, so that EDs can prepare for a future pandemic by reserving treatment capacity for both at-risk and non-risk patients and ensuring staff and patient safety.”

Chowdhury will present her completed study at the Healthcare Design Expo & Conference in 2023. The research will also be used to complete her dissertation.

Before attending KU, she earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in Dhaka.