Deborah Wingler, MDS-HHE, EDAC, has been selected as the 2017 New Investigator Award (NIA) recipient by The Center for Health Design’s Research Coalition. Deborah is the President of Healing Design Integration, LLC, and a doctoral candidate at Clemson University in Architecture + Health under the supervision of Dr. Anjali Joseph. Her research proposes to use real-time data collection techniques to elicit insight into patient and staff physiological, psychological and affective responses to high stress healthcare environments. Her research project titled, “Examining Child and Parent Anxiety During the Ambulatory Surgical Process”, aims to gain deeper insight into and provide more reliable evidence of the phenomena under study by reducing biases associated with retrospective and proxy evaluations of the experience. 

This study will examine how the use of induction rooms versus the operating theater for anesthetic induction either intensifies or mitigates perioperative anxiety for children who are undergoing an outpatient surgical procedure. The study proposes equal inclusion of parental perspectives.

As the 2017 award recipient, Deborah will also serve as a member of The Center's Research Coalition for one year, along with complimentary registration to the 2018 Healthcare Design Expo & Conference, where she will have the opportunity to present her completed research study. 

“This award is designed to encourage new researchers to turn their attention to evaluating how the built environment impacts healthcare outcomes”, stated Yolanda Keys, who leads the NIA initiative for The Center’s Research Coalition. “The Coalition was impressed with the caliber of proposals submitted this year. It is very encouraging to see the work dedicated to enhancing the evidence base for healthcare design, and we look forward to watching these efforts grow.  It was our pleasure to select Deborah Wingler as the recipient of the 2017 New Investigator Award.“