An introduction to my journey as an IWBI Research Advisor: Creating a global research agenda focusing on health, well-being, and the built environment.
I must begin with how honored I am to work alongside global research leaders at the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) along with an esteemed team of applied research practitioners from around the world as selected ADVISORS. Our objective is to spearhead the advancement of the global research agenda.
The International Well Building Institute (IWBI) is recognized by Fast Company as one of the world’s most innovative companies. Its work provides a framework to advance the performance of building environments beyond energy use and consumption while incorporating a focus on the health and wellness of the people and the businesses that occupy the space. WELL Building Standards (https://www.wellcertified.com/) were developed from global interdisciplinary research in the field and center on the health and well-being of a person and their physiology. The development took over 10 years to compile and to date, WELL standards have certified over 4.65 billion square feet across 126 countries.
The opportunity to work with IWBI is a natural progression of the advancement in the field of evidence-based design focused on healing environments. The IWBI initiative follows the progression of operational sustainability and health and how healthcare facilities and businesses can contribute to the improved health and wellness of people and the planet.
As I reflect on this opportunity, there are three distinct activities that have prepared me for the role afforded to me as a part of this team: (1) Understanding Sustainable Operational Practices, (2) Defining Healing Environments and (3) Exploring how policy could improve operational outcomes. These three areas of focused work and contribution to the field have enabled me to take this applied knowledge and use it to contribute to the improvement of health and well-being in the built environment alongside the outstanding IWBI research advisory team.
Understanding Sustainability Operational Practices
I was privileged to serve as a member of the 15-person steering team that worked to create the first global standards which linked human health to the building environment (https://www.results-project.org/green-guide-for-health-care/). These standards served as a tool that provided guidance to the healthcare community on how to make building environments healthier for the occupants and the planet. In 2010 we launched the operations portion of the Green Guide where my co-chair Janet Howard and I were able to support the facility managers and hospital operators’ guidelines on how to shift their operations to more sustainable practices. (https://www.bdcnetwork.com/green-guide-health-care-launches-pilot-program-looks-participants). Our work was two-fold; (1) creating a community that shared their best practices and (2) providing guidance for leaders in transforming their operations into more sustainable operations. This work and application became the foundational document for the United States Green Building council’s LEED Standards for healthcare (https://www.usgbc.org/discoverleed/certification/bd-c-healthcare/).
Defining Healing Environments
From the data compiled through research and the work done with the Green Guide for healthcare, it became apparent that the environment clearly influenced health and that within the healthcare environment it influenced healing. As this understanding (and the gap of evidence and research) became clear, I was able to work to further advance the evidence and practice of what healing environments and spaces entail. A business case regarding how a patient’s experience is influenced by space was also developed. Over the next few years, I was able to lead and contribute to leading research to define the science of healing environments in the following peer reviewed publications.
- DuBose, J., MacAllister, L., Hadi, K., & Sakallaris, B. (2018). Exploring the concept of healing spaces. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 11(1), 43-56.
- Sakallaris, B. R., Macallister, L., Smith, K., & Mulvihill, D. L. (2016). The business case for optimal healing environments. Global advances in health and medicine, 5(1), 94-102.
- MacAllister, L., Bellanti, D., & Sakallaris, B. R. (2016). Exploring inpatients’ experiences of healing and healing spaces: A mixed methods study. Journal of patient experience, 3(4), 119-130.
- Sakallaris, B. R., Macallister, L., Voss, M., Smith, K., & Jonas, W. B. (2015). Optimal healing environments. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 4(3), 40-45.
Exploring how Policy could improve outcomes
Finally, the ability to take these concepts and research understandings and apply them to policy and practices has been my current focus with a focus to improve overall quality, access, and cost in the State of Michigan with my appointment by the Governor through the Certificate of Need Commission (CON). (https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/doing-business/providers/certificateofneed/commission/commission-overview-and-members) The regulatory program of the CON was established in 1978 by the State of Michigan to ensure the necessary facilities and services were available aiding in the provision of quality healthcare for the state’s residents. These regulations are challenged in the current marketplace and are being reviewed and modified in various states as the healthcare marketplace continues to evolve.
Apply guidance to improve health and well-being in the built environment
The team’s primary goal will be to refresh the 2021 Global research agenda for 2025. Within the research agenda, are 12 impact topics that are the focus and clear evidence and outcomes to achieve: CLICK HERE
The journey will be an amazing opportunity to create a clear roadmap of how the environment can support health and well-being for people and the planet as well as build the framework and outline clear correlations of research to impact and to continually advance the business case. What a journey it will be, I invite you to join me as I embark on this important directive with the IWBI research advisory global colleagues to approach and translate research into practice.
