She earned her Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in Architecture Culture and Behavior/ Evidence Based Design and minoring in Health Systems. She holds a professional Master’s degree in Architecture from the same school. Her main research interest lies in human behavior and responses to architecture and its design and space. Her current research focuses on how design affects user and organizational outcomes as it affects organizational function, performance, patient safety, and health. Her recent publication in the Journal of Advanced Nursing demonstrated how the physical design of hospitals work with care process and technology to enhance patient and staff outcomes and experiences and establishes the practical framework of a multi-systemic approach in fall prevention that recognizes the collective efforts of the physical environment, care process, and technology to prevent patient falls and fall-related injuries. She is currently taking a lead on projects, funded by the Military Health System and supported by Emory University Hospitals, that examine links between the architectural design factors and one of key patient outcomes (i.e., patient falls), utilizing clinical data of fallers and their locations of falls. She was a recipient of the 2008 research award granted by the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) the Academy of Architecture for Health with a project that investigated the impact of the unit layout on family experiences and their involvement in patient care.
Educational Background
2004 – Master of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology
2011 – Doctor of Philosophy, Georgia Institute of Technology
2001 – Bachelor of Architectural Engineering, Pusan National University, Pusan, South Korea
Fields
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COA 1011- CFY (Common First Year), Fall 2011
COA 1012 - CFY (Common First Year), Spring 2012
COA 8823 - Evidence-Based Design, Spring 2012
]]>Research Groups/Labs
Health Environments Research Group led by Dr. Craig Zimring
Refereed Journal Papers
Choi, Y., Lawler, E., Boenecke, C., Ponatoski, E., & Zimring, C. (2011). Developing a multi-systematic fall prevention model, incorporating the physical environment, the care process and culture, and technology: a systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing.
Seo, H., Choi, Y. & Zimring, C. (2011). Impact of Hospital Unit Design for Patient-Centered Care on Nurses' Behavior. Environment & Behavior.
Ulrich, R.S., Zimring, C., Zhu, X., DuBose, J., Seo, H., Choi, Y., Quan, X. & Joseph, A. (2008). A review of the research literature on evidence-based healthcare design. Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 1(3), 61-125.
Choi, Y., & Sheila, B. (under review). Environmental Affordance: The impact of patient-centered unit design on family involvement in patient care. Environment and Behavior, Under review.
Published Conference Proceedings and Presentations
Choi, Y., & Zimring, C. (2011). A multi-systemic approach in fall prevention: Incorporating the physical environment into a practical framework. Paper presented at the Environmental Design Research Association Chicago, IL.
Choi, Y., Lawler, E. & Mann-Dooks, J. (2010) New DoD Research-Looking at the Environment of Falls in Context. In Healthcare Design Conference Las Vegas, NV.
Sheila, B. & Choi, Y. (2009) Designing for family presence: an empirical investigation. In 2009 International Conference and Exhibition Health Facility Planning, Design, and Construction Phoenix, AZ.
Choi, Y., Sheila, B., & Zimring, C. (2009a). Encouraging family presence by designing family friendly acute care environments. Paper presented at the Environmental Design Research Association Kansas City, MO.
Choi, Y., & Sheila, B. (2009). The impact of patient-centered unit design on family involvement in patient care. Paper presented at the Healthcare Design 09, Orlando, FL.
Ossmann, M., Choi, Y., Seo, H., & Zimring, C. (2007). Evidence-based design: the state of the nursing floor. Where do we go from here? Paper presented at the Environmental Design Research Association, Sacramento, CA.
Honors and Awards
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