Devi Soman, a student in Clemson University’s Planning, Design and the Built Environment Ph.D. program, was recently awarded the Vera Paster Award by the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice (Global Alliance).
According to the Global Alliance, the Vera Paster Award recognizes “a graduate student, postgraduate resident, or fellow in a behavioral health or social justice program who is engaged in work that contributes significantly to the social, education, physical, or psychological well-being of persons of color, thereby promoting their empowerment and ameliorating disadvantage from oppression and its effects.”
Soman will receive her award during the Coming Together for Action Conference in September. Prior to accepting the award, Soman and Assistant Professor Arelis Moore of the College of Arts and Humanities will present “Improving Patient Care for Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health in the Emergency Department: Latinx Interview.”
“This award opens up many opportunities and expands the audiences for my research,” Soman said. “It is rare for doctoral research, more so in architecture and health, to have access to such an interdisciplinary community of nurses, social workers, anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, economists, journalists and lawyers like the Global Alliance.”
Their presentation will present the findings from interviews with Latinx patients and their caregivers who have visited the emergency department (ED) to receive mental and behavioral health care, which, according to Soman, highlights the challenges they face and what they found helpful while navigating their visit.
The work in the presentation is part of the ongoing ‘Realizing Improved Patient Care through Human-centered Design for Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health in the Emergency Department (RIPCHD.PED) study conducted by Clemson’s Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing (CHFDT), led by Anjali Joseph.
Soman’s dissertation, “The Impact of Free-Standing Birth Center (FSBC) Physical Environments on Patient Experience and Maternal Health Outcomes for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Women,” focuses on how the free-standing birth center designs can help support culturally sensitive care during childbirth and improve outcomes.
Her study sheds light on how the design of the physical environment could contribute to supporting care that meets the needs of women from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) communities, specifically looking at how those designs can help reduce stress during birthing and improve outcomes. Soman’s study is additionally supported by the Center for Health Design through the Joseph G. Sprague New Investigator Award and the American Association of Birth Center Foundation through the AABC Research Grant, as well as her committee members, Anjali Joseph, Dr. Arelis Moore, Dr. Veronica Parker and David Allison.
Soman will receive $500 in funding in addition to compensation for travel expenses from the Global Alliance.
“To be honest, I feel really humbled,” Soman said, “I didn’t know I was nominated for the award and was caught a little off-guard when I saw the email. I’m extremely grateful to Dr. Moore for the nomination, my committee members, family and friends and to the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice for selecting me for this prestigious award.”
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