Health Design Innovations Lab

Photo of Mardelle Shepley lecturing students in a library

Health Design Innovations Lab (HDIL) is a multidisciplinary community of faculty, students, practitioners, and community members committed to cutting-edge research on healthcare environments. HDIL is part of the Department of Human Centered Design (formally DEA, Design and Environmental Analysis) in the College of Human Ecology and is affiliated with the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures. HDIL members engage in applied research collaborating with industry and community members in national and international projects. Their research projects focus on approaches to the planning, design and management of settings that promote human health and well-being.

Current Projects

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E)

Through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), and in partnership with Cornell Engineering and Montana State University, HDIL has contributed to the development and commercialization plan of a new occupant monitoring technology. Through its fall HVAC system efficiency optimization and fall monitoring capabilities, this technology will greatly improve environmental sustainability and occupant safety in commercial and healthcare buildings.

The Home Opioid Prescription Education and Smart Storage (HOPES)

The Home Opioid Prescription Education and Smart Storage (HOPES) , a Cornell-led collaboration, seeks to support older adults living alone and diagnosed with mild dementia to take critical medications safely using pill organizers. This allows older adults to continue living independently and avoid unnecessary hospital visits. With support from a $250,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, HOPES will help integrate the pill organizers into participants’ daily lives and train users and their caregivers, including family members, on how to operate them and on medication safety.

Past Projects

Some of the past projects HDIL has completed include:

  • Value-based Decision Making about Design
  • Non-pharmacological Solutions to Enhance Quality of Life for Aging and End of Life
  • Optimization of Workplace Design to Improve Safety and Efficiency
  • Design Innovation
  • Patient Health Outcomes
  • Sustainability in Healthcare Design
  • Designing End-of-Life Care Settings to Enhance Quality of Life
  • Innovation 2017

For more information about HDIL and their research and recommended courses at Cornell University, see their website.

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