Speaker: Hui Cai, Professor, School of Architecture, Georgia Tech; Executive Director, SimTigrate Design Center

Sept. 11, 2025
12:00 p.m. Lunch; 12:30 p.m. talk starts
Location: Hodges Room, 3rd floor, Centergy One building in Technology Square

Abstract: Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) are associated with increased mortality, prolonged length of stay, and substantial healthcare costs. Research indicates that effective hand hygiene by healthcare staff is one of the most effective ways of reducing the potential for HAI occurrence. Although robust hand hygiene protocols and educational campaigns have established hand hygiene as a cornerstone of HAI prevention, observed compliance rates in environments of care (EoC) remain low (typically 60-70%). This shortfall reflects a complex interplay of behavioral and environmental factors. Human-centered environmental affordances offer a promising avenue for reinforcing reliable compliance. However, the impacts of environment on HHC and nurses’ experience has been underexplored. In this talk, I will share a series of studies based on interdisciplinary collaborations that combined expertise in evidence-based design, human factors, nursing, and industrial engineering. We evaluated how spatial configuration of nursing unit, patient rooms, and hand sanitizer dispenser placement influence compliance rates and nurse experience. Finally, I will discuss future directions of integrating big data analytics and machine learning approaches to predict hand hygiene behavior and develop data-driven interventions to better support patient and staff safety.

Bio: Dr. Hui Cai is a Professor of the School of Architecture at Georgia Tech. She also serves as the Executive Director of the SimTigrate Design Center, an interdisciplinary research center that foster innovation in design to promote health outcomes and human wellbeing. Cai holds a Ph.D. degree in Architecture from Georgia Tech. Dr. Cai’s research focuses on using a performance-driven and evidence-based design approach to analyze the relationship between culture, human behavior, and the physical environment, especially in healthcare settings and healthy communities. Cai combines various analytical tools in her research, such as space syntax analysis, discrete event simulations, and behavioral mappings. Cai disseminates her work extensively through numerous publications and presentations. Her work in healthcare research has received several awards, including the International Academy Award for Best Research project, AIA-AAH/AAH Foundation Burgun Fellowship, and the Inaugural Wilbur H (Tib) Tusler, Jr. Health Design Research Prize awarded by the Foundation for Health Environments Research. She was recently named as 2021 HCD 10 Healthcare Design Educator. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA).

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IPaT: GVU Lunch Lecture Series