PhD Researcher

Mohana Das

ORCID iD

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2665-4689

Biography

Mohana is presently a PhD candidate in the School of Design at PolyU, where she is investigating how to improve the design strategies already in place to foster wellbeing in Hong Kong's existing long-term care facilities. The researcher, who has thirteen years of experience in architecture and designing healthcare-related spaces, focuses on bridging the gap between theory and practice in developing spaces for community-dwelling seniors. She has presented her works in several international conferences and has won multiple awards in Architecture and Urban Design competitions across the globe, including those held in India, Italy, Hong Kong, the Czech Republic, and Belgium, among many others.

Research Title

Design framework on residential care homes for elderly in a post-pandemic environment in Hong Kong: Strategies on physical-functional needs for the criteria and evaluation of psycho-social wellbeing

Keywords 

Ageing population, long-term care, social interaction, artificial intelligence, post-pandemic world, post-occupancy evaluation.

Project Objectives

The main aim of the work is to develop a set of evaluative physical design guidelines, strategies and policy recommendations for achieving improved standards of living for the elderly-care homes in Hong Kong that are prepared for the future post-pandemic world. To explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) - playing a role in the softer, smarter and more human side of healthcare focusing on the elderly long-term care homes in a post-pandemic world. The influencing factors that can facilitate the implementation of technology for community-dwelling older adults, and provide directions for further technology acceptance research within this specific age group.

The key research questions to be addressed during the study are:

• How does the indoor environment setting and layout affect residents’ physical and mental health?
• How do architecture-related design strategies in the elderly-care homes affect residents HRQOL and promote safety against emergency outbreaks like COVID-19?
• How to integrate healthcare network and care management platform using AI and IoMT to actively coordinate care and information to improve aging in place while reducing ER visits and hospitalizations?                
• To identify possible uses of AI applications that can aid better lifestyle, emotional well being and increased interaction amongst the residents promoting social interaction. What were the design factors that increased/decreased social interaction during the lockdown?
• What are the preferred settings in the outdoor environment by the elderly people living in high-rise and high-density districts of Hong Kong?

Qualifications

• Diploma in Architecture, 2011, Women's Polytechnic, India (Distinction)

• Bachelors in Architecture (B. Arch.), 2016, Piloo Mody College of Architecture, India (Distinction)
• Laurea Magistrale (Masters) in Architecture & Urban Design (MAUD), 2020, Politecnico di Milano, Italy (Distinction cum lode)
• Registered Architect, Council of Architecture (COA, India)- CA/2016/80513

Key Publications

• Das, M. (2023). From Crisis to Insight: Navigating Public Health Challenges in an Aging Society—Lessons from Hong Kong’s COVID-19 Experience. J Urban Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-023-00760-9 (Q1 Journal)

• Das, M. (2022). COVID-19 and the Elderlies: How Safe Are Hong Kong's Care Homes? Front. Public Health 10:883472. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.883472 (Q1 Journal)

• Brambilla, A., Das, M., Mangili, S., Lal, S., Capolongo, S. (2022). Analysis of Functional Layout in Emergency Departments (ED). Shedding Light on the Free Standing Emergency Department (FSED) Model. Applied Sciences. 12(10):5099. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12105099 (H Index: 101)
• Das, M., & Lau, N. (2022). Applying the Resilience Perspective to design the future planning strategies as an impact of COVID-19: Case of the Hong Kong Elderly care homes. AMPS 2021; Environments by Design-Health, Wellbeing and Place,
  https://amps-research.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Amps Proceedings-Series-26.2.pdf (Conference Paper)
• Das, M., Lau, N., Tang, C. Y. K., & Lin, Z. (2022). Perception of Digital Integration and Companions for Older Communities in China in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The European Conference on Aging & Gerontology, London. https://papers.iafor.org/submission64896/ (Conference Paper)

Supervisors

• Prof Peter Hasdell (Chief Supervisor)

• Dr Tulio Maximo (Co-supervisor)
• Dr Yi Sun (BRE)(Co-supervisor)

Specialization / Interests

Urban Design, Healthcare Architecture, Universal Design

Study: Ph.D

Study mode: Full Time

Hometown: Kolkata