Improving Long-Term Care Facility Design through Bioethical Peer Review

The bioethics research by Dr. Anderson and her team has highlighted the need for policymakers to address long-term care (LTC) issues around the built environment, currently without clinical oversight. Growing knowledge of how architecture affects behavior, well-being, and health outcomes demands that concerns about evaluating benefits and harms, freedom, and consent be thoroughly vetted. Their novel and pioneering Bioethics Peer Review (BPR) model is currently being implemented to highlight bioethical issues across multiple dimensions of the building and its operations. The team’s campaign with federal policymakers will aim to make them aware and consider these bioethical concerns, as new knowledge engenders new responsibilities.