Hopkins Hour: Personalised Enriched Environments in Inpatient Rehabilitation Wards

This Hopkins Hour live event was held on the 20th May and was hosted by Hopkins Research Fellow Dr Michael Norwood and members of the research team: Cherelle Cowl, Susan Jones, Kaitlyn Spalding, Michelle Porter and Joshua Jacob.

The session explored how inpatient rehabilitation wards can be enriched through personalised environments and environmental supports that promote recovery, agency, and wellbeing.

The webinar highlighted past, current, and emerging research examining how art, digital, virtual, and interactive technologies can create more engaging and meaningful rehabilitation spaces that foster connection to self, others, places, and cultures. Presenters shared innovative interdisciplinary approaches and practical solutions designed to gently transform everyday ward environments and support future innovation in rehabilitation settings.

Host Michael Norwood, gave an overview and research insights on the BEEHIVE: Brain + Enriched environments Lab, followed by Cherelle Cowl who presented on the Personalised RAP program and the Honeycomb tool. View presentation here.

Kaitlyn Spalding then shared her presentation on "If, how, and why patients modify and personalise their rooms in inpatient neurorehabilitation environments",  (View presentation here) followed by Susan Jones who presented on "Environment Enrichment on the Neurorehabiliation Ward: A Collaborative Translation Project". View presentation here.

We also heard from Michael Norwwod on behalf of Michelle Porter who introduced the new project "Using Virtual Reality to Connect to Culture: Aims to Improve Psychological Functioning during Hospital Admission."

The session concluded with a candid conversation between Michael Norwood and Joshua Jacob about the clinician approach to environment enrichment followed by a Q&A including all presenters.

 

The free online event welcomed people with disability, clinicians, researchers, students, and members of the public with an interest in spinal cord and brain injury, generating valuable discussion around the important relationship between people, place, and practice in rehabilitation care.

Access the online recording below.