EDAC flashcards
EDAC · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Evidence-based design
- Basing decisions about the built environment on credible research to achieve the best possible outcomes, while adding new project-specific evidence through measurement.
- Fable Hospital
- A 2004 hypothetical 300-bed hospital business case in which roughly $12 million of design innovations were projected to yield about $41 million in annual savings from fewer falls, infections, and staff turnover.
- Triple Aim
- An Institute for Healthcare Improvement framework with three goals: improving population health, improving the patient experience of care, and reducing per-capita cost.
- Quadruple Aim
- An extension of the Triple Aim that adds improving the work life and well-being of clinicians and staff as a fourth goal of healthcare improvement.
- Pebble Project
- A Center for Health Design initiative begun in 2000 in which partner healthcare organizations measure and publish evidence-based design outcomes so results ripple through the industry.
- Return on investment
- A ratio of net financial benefit to cost, calculated as benefits minus costs divided by costs and expressed as a percentage to justify design investments.
- Design hypothesis
- A testable statement linking a design intervention to an expected outcome and its measure, such as 'if single rooms are built, infection rates will fall as measured by CLABSI rates.'
- SMART objectives
- Objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, making it possible to test whether a design achieved its intended purpose.
- Goal versus objective
- A goal is a broad desired end state, while an objective is a specific, measurable, time-bound step that operationalizes the goal for evaluation.
- Baseline data
- Pre-design or pre-occupancy measurements of the outcomes of interest, used as the comparison point when evaluating performance after the design intervention.
- Outcome metrics
- Quantifiable indicators chosen during goal setting, such as infection rate, fall rate, length of stay, or patient satisfaction, used to judge whether design objectives were achieved.
- Systematic review
- A structured, protocol-driven synthesis of all studies addressing a focused question, using explicit search and appraisal criteria to reduce bias.
- Meta-analysis
- A statistical technique that pools effect sizes from multiple comparable studies to produce a single quantitative estimate of an intervention's effect.
- Levels of evidence
- A ranking of study designs by susceptibility to bias, typically from systematic reviews and randomized trials at the top to case reports and expert opinion at the bottom.
- PICO
- A question-framing framework using Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome to build a searchable, answerable evidence question.
- Internal validity
- The degree to which a study's design supports a causal conclusion, meaning the observed outcome was caused by the intervention rather than by confounders or bias.
- External validity
- The degree to which study findings generalize to other populations, settings, and times, which is critical when applying evidence to a different project.
- Mock-up
- A full-scale physical or virtual simulation of a proposed room or unit, used with users to test layout, workflow, and safety before construction.
- Acuity-adaptable room
- A single-patient room designed to support care from intensive through med-surg acuity, letting patients stay in place and reducing transfers and handoffs.
- Single-patient room
- A private room with its own toilet; evidence links it to lower healthcare-associated infection transmission, better privacy, and improved communication with staff and family.
- Decentralized nursing
- Placing nursing staff and supplies in alcoves closer to patients; it shortens walking distance but may reduce peer support and sight lines to other patients.
- Design decision matrix
- A structured tool that scores design options against weighted criteria such as strength of evidence, capital cost, operational impact, and stakeholder priorities.
- Post-occupancy evaluation
- A systematic assessment of how a building performs after occupancy, measured against explicit criteria such as clinical outcomes, satisfaction, workflow, and operating cost.
- HCAHPS
- The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, a standardized, publicly reported survey of patients' perspectives on hospital care.
- Triangulation
- Using multiple methods, data sources, or investigators to examine the same question, which increases confidence when the findings converge.
- Confounding variable
- An unmeasured factor such as case mix, staffing, or season that changes alongside the design intervention and can distort the observed outcome.
- Behavioral mapping
- Systematic observation that records where people are and what they do at set intervals, used to quantify space use, crowding, and workflow patterns.
- Quasi-experimental design
- A study comparing outcomes before and after an intervention without random assignment, commonly used in design research because randomization is rarely feasible.
- Charrette
- An intensive, time-limited workshop that brings stakeholders together to generate, critique, and refine design solutions collaboratively.
- User group
- A recurring working session with representatives of building users, such as staff, patients, and families, that reviews design proposals and provides operational feedback.
- Dissemination
- Sharing design and outcome findings through peer-reviewed journals, conferences, case studies, and repositories so others can apply or test them.
- HERD journal
- Health Environments Research and Design Journal, a peer-reviewed publication reporting research and post-occupancy evaluations on healthcare built environments.