Dr. Roxana Jafarifiroozabadi

 Jafarifiroozabadi is a healthcare design researcher who focuses on improving patient safety and outcomes in high-stress healthcare settings using evidence-based design and human-centered design approaches. She has worked as a research assistant at the Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing (CHFDT), Clemson University, from 2016-21. At CHFDT, she collaborated with multidisciplinary teams on large grant-funded projects related to optimizing healthcare environments (e.g., the operating room), user preferences in healthcare settings, and telemedicine implementation in healthcare spaces. Roxana used multiple methods, including scenario-based simulations in VR and high-fidelity mock-up, video coding, surveys, focus groups, and interviews to obtain users’ feedback regarding the design.

Her interdisciplinary dissertation looked at the impact of cardiac ICU rooms with various daylighting and viewing accommodations on patient outcomes (length of stay, delirium, and mortality) as well as heart disease symptoms (anxiety, depression, and sleep disruption). This study is significant as it helps architects and medical planners provide meaningful stimuli for patients in healthcare environments such as ICUs. Besides, the methodology used in this study integrated data from electronic health records and real-time patient data to form a holistic approach for examining health outcomes among patients exposed to design interventions.

Jafarifiroozabadi's other areas of interest include tool standardization and development, developing design solutions to improve the environmental quality for the aging population, and using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to understand health-related issues in communities.