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Current Studies
What We Are StudyingSome text needed here.
Why It MattersSome more text needed here.
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COVID-19 & Beyond: Safe Indoor Environment Program
What We Are StudyingHow to reduce airborne and surface-based transmission of respiratory viruses and examining employee well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why It MattersSince March 2020, COVID-19 has infected >500 million individuals and led to >6 million deaths worldwide. Evaluating advanced technologies and strategies that limit air and surface-based disease spread, as well as investigating the health and well-being of workforce sectors impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, is critical now - during the pandemic - and for future seasonal disease outbreaks (such as influenza).
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Clinician Burnout
What We Are StudyingWhether relaxation rooms effectively reduce burnout and workplace stress while improving job satisfaction for Mayo Clinic physicians.
Why It MattersBurnout is significantly more likely for physicians compared to the general working population in the United States (Shanafelt et al. 2019). Physician burnout has adverse consequences on the quality and safety of patient care. Additionally, a 2019 analysis estimated that physician turnover and reduced clinical hours due to burnout costs the U.S. $4.6 billion dollars annually (Han et al. 2019). Determining whether relaxation rooms are effective at mitigating the adverse effects of burnout and workplace stress could provide health-care organizations with more impactful interventions that benefit employee health and well-being.
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Indoor Lighting and the Brain and Cognitive Health in Older Adults
What We Are StudyingWhether the quality of indoor lighting can improve measures of brain and cognitive health in older adults.
Why It MattersThe population aged 60 years and older will double from 1 billion in 2019 to 2.1 billion in 2050 (WHO Aging Statistics). Certain lifestyle behaviors can help people as they age to manage their health and quality of life and live as independently as possible. Staying mentally, physically, and socially active and engaging in proper sleep habits can potentially slow memory decline and lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias (Finch and Tanzi 1997; Dexter, 2020). Improved indoor lighting may help promote these lifestyle behaviors and improve the outcomes of aging.
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Portable Air Filtration in a Long-Term Care Facility
What We Are StudyingWhether technologies aimed at improving indoor air quality can reduce how many particles are present in the air and on surfaces in a long-term care facility, critical in limiting respiratory virus transmission and improving health and well-being among older adults.
Why It MattersIn the U.S., COVID-19 has led to >1 million confirmed cases and 150,000 deaths among residents in Skilled Nursing Facilities as of May 2022. Compared with younger age groups, older adults are more prone to mortality following COVID-19 or other respiratory infections due to the prevalence of high comorbidity (such as heart disease or diabetes). To mitigate respiratory infection risk in these facilities, it is critical to reduce potentially-infectious particles in the air and on surfaces (Offermann et al., 1985) to minimize exposure and lower spread of infection (Chen et al., 2010; Miller-Leiden et al., 1996; Zuraimi et al., 2011).
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Health Impact of Automated Indoor Air Quality Control in an Apartment
What We Are StudyingHow indoor air pollution affects physiological and psychosocial outcomes and whether ventilation and filtration systems controlling air pollutant concentrations, particularly while individuals cook and clean, may lead to improved health.
Why It MattersThe Environmental Protection Agency has noted that exposure to indoor air pollutants is significant and can negatively impact health. The primary sources of residential indoor air pollution are cooking and cleaning, which typically take place throughout the average day. It is important to explore advanced technologies that can ensure air is adequately filtered around the time of these activities.
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Acute Stress Recovery
What We Are StudyingHow visual and/or auditory features of a relaxation room can positively impact recovery from stress.
Why It MattersAccording to the 2021 Stress in America™ survey, work-related stress is the top stressor among adult workers (American Psychological Association, 2021). Relaxation rooms are one organizational strategy being used to reduce workplace stress. However, it is not well-understood how the way a person perceives stress relates to the body’s physical responses to stress. Understanding how physiological stress responses relate to improvements in perceived stress when using a relaxation room could lead to more effective strategies in addressing workplace stress.
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Indoor Air Quality, Energy Consumption, & Office Worker Performance
What We Are StudyingHow improved ventilation and filtration interventions in an office may improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and employee performance and health, with a positive financial outcome for the company when compared to traditional systems.
Why It MattersCompanies spend around 100 times more money on personnel costs than utilities. IAQ in offices is among the most important factors potentially affecting both overall environmental quality (Wei et al., 2020) and cognitive function of employees, which ultimately impacts their ability to be productive and contribute to a company’s bottom line. Indeed, an economic and environmental analysis of enhanced ventilation in office buildings across seven different U.S. climate zones showed that doubling the ventilation rate costs less than $40 per employee per year, compared to a $6500 increase per employee per year for productivity (MacNaughton et al., 2015).
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Future Studies
What We Are StudyingSome text needed here.
Why It MattersSome more text needed here.
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Well Living Lab Test Home: A Marvin collaboration
What We Are StudyingHow real-world integration of smart home IoT technology, digital health sensors, and other advanced technologies can support healthy living in pre-retirement populations.
Why It MattersSmart home technology can enable older adults to understand and manage their health at home. Quality controls can be tailored to an individual’s lifestyle to improve sleep quality, work performance, and satisfaction. It is critical to understand the preferences and behaviors of occupants with smart, personalized controls and the effect on health and well-being.
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College Students, Indoor Lighting, and Sleep
What We Are StudyingHow dorm rooms and screen-based lighting affects college students’ physiological functioning, sleep quality, and cognitive performance.
Why It MattersApproximately 62% of college students have been classified as having poor sleep quality, with only around 37% obtaining more than seven hours of sleep per night (Becker et al., 2018). Poor sleep quality over time could negatively impact the capability of this population to properly manage stress and, therefore, impair cognitive function through increased anxiety. Research has also noted that lower sleep duration and worse sleep quality are associated with poorer academic performance. Therefore, it is critical to improve dorm room lighting environments to promote better sleep and related health outcomes among college students.
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Nurse Stress Reduction in a Long-Term Care Facility
What We Are StudyingWhether exposure to a combined mindfulness-based smartphone app and biophilic intervention might reduce stress, burnout, and fatigue in nurses, benefitting their health and well-being and the quality of care provided to residents.
Why It MattersNursing is among the most stressful professions in healthcare with up to one-half of nurses reporting a feeling of professional burnout. Nurses in long-term care facilities face particularly high rates of stress, burnout, and fatigue given the highly-involved care they provide residents (Pekkarinen et al., 2004; Hasson & Arnetz, 2008). Combining a convenient mindfulness-based smartphone app with biophilic intervention might reduce stress, burnout, and fatigue among this population.