House as Health Intervention

Newman

Home as Health Intervention

Healthy Living

Case Study 1: Myelomeningocele - Spina Bifida

Case Study 2: Tetraplegia

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Project Description:

Negotiating the environment requires a functional relationship between multi sensory input and our brains. Our sensory systems gather information that the brain integrates and interprets as perceptions of events and objects in the world. Proper functioning of this process is crucial for safe functional performance and independent living. When the processing mechanisms from sensory input to integrated perception are affected by illness or trauma we are unable to navigate our environment safely without aids, re-training, or both. This projects studied 1) if using architecture and occupational students working together to understand home modification problems improves performance outcomes, and 2) what is the effectiveness of home modification questionnaires commonly used in occupational therapy at predicting problems of spatial configuration.

We propose to develop a program for spatial analytics based on approaches in spatial syntax. Spatial syntax uses a set of techniques to break spatial arrangements into components that can be analyzed as networks of relations represented on maps and graphs to describe characteristics of those spaces. Using metrics to analyze spatial configurations we hope to be able to calibrate the contextual environment to understand its affect on patients with cognitive disabilities and . It has already been shown that the way a person performs a functional task (defined as an occupational performance) is based on the way the person interprets the task-object relationship in a specified context (defined as an occupational form). Thus, depending on whether the form elicits meaning and purpose, the person’s quality of performance and commitment to the performance will be affected. Most importantly for our study, Pedretti and Early also suggested that context affects occupational performance and that occupational therapists must understand the aspects of context (i.e., environment and objects) that will likely influence the occupational performance. The most innovative aspect of the project is to combine knowledge from the architectural field and health care field using graduate students in both disciplines to optimize movement performance of a clinical population in a specific context.

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Co-Investigators

- Winifred E. Newman
- Sonit Bafna,
- Kinsuk Maitra
- Yoonjeong Lim

Partners:

Jewish Family & Career Services of Atlanta
Toco Hills NORC, Naturally Occurring Retirement Community
Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta

Funding:

Georgia State University
University of Arkansas
Clemson University
Georgia Institute of Technology