Chantal Trudel

Chantal Trudel is a graduate of Carleton University’s School of Industrial Design (B.I.D) and earned her Master’s Degree in Applied Ergonomics (MSc) from the University of Nottingham. Chantal’s experience reflects her appreciation for the role of industrial design within interdisciplinary teams and working with other professions to achieve a comprehensive understanding of people, processes and their context. Early in her career, she conducted research for Teknion’s ‘Advanced Concepts’ and worked as a product designer for Umbra. For over 10 years, she has worked within the field of architecture and interior design, exploring the use, planning and design of spaces and products within complex building systems. Starting with commercial interiors at B+H Architects, she went on to specialize in health care environments with Parkin Architects. Since then, her field experience in designing health care environments has given her insight into product limitations and potential research opportunities.

Chantal has worked on large, multidisciplinary teams, as a planner and designer on Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre’s (HSC) Women and Newborn Hospital (Parkin Architects/Architecture 49) and as a designer during the pursuit stage of Infrastructure Québec’s McGill University Health Network Glen Campus competition in Montreal with (Parkin Architects under OHL). Her work has been featured in Canadian Interiors for the design of McClelland and Stewart’s office (B+H Architects). In 2010, Chantal and her colleagues received the Canadian Architect Award of Excellence for the Women and Newborn Hospital and a High Commendation for the same project from the International Academy for Design and Health in the International Future Health Project Category in 2012.

Research

Chantal is interested in design’s role in health, safety, performance and productivity, with special interest in: clinical processes and the design of products and environment; patient and family experience in health care design; design for women and newborn care; the role of design in understanding and practicing infection prevention and control (IPAC); and human computer interaction in health care design. Her students have explored digital navigation in hospitals; noise cancellation/personalized acoustic control for in-patients; IPAC and ergonomic considerations in commode chair and hand sanitizer design; sensor and internet-enabled technology for facilitating family assistance in care; to name just a few examples. Other students have explored health and safety within the context of forest fighting with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, investigating human factors considerations.

Chantal’s research on clinical audiology as it relates to the ergonomics and design of products and the environment has been featured in Access Audiology & The Leader, a digital publication on the American Speech– Language–Hearing Association website. Her master’s thesis examined the influence of product and environmental design as well as clinicians’ perspectives and work motivations, on IPAC within a neonatal intensive care unit. The study leads to the development of a framework for understanding IPAC breaches and recommendations for further research and development.

Research Projects

Research and Education in Accessibility, Design, & Innovation (READi)	READi provides accessibility training and skills to students. It is the first interdisciplinary post-secondary accessibility-training program offered in Canada. This integrated solutions-oriented training program includes applied and experimental learning with business, non-government organizations, accessibility experts and persons with disabilities.
Bruyère Real-time Monitoring & Analytics to Support the Design of Patient/Resident Care Workflows, Environments & Products	In this new research program being developed by Prof. Trudel and Dr. Adrian Chan, students will work with leading researchers, industry partners, patients, and care providers to design new ways to learn and think about health through real time data.
Learning through the Pandemic – Rethinking Long Term Care Design	Funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research and the Foundation for Health Environments Research (USA), students are working with LTC homes across Canada to re-imagine services, the environment, products, and technologies to support this sector.
National Research Council Centre for Air Travel Research (NRC CATR)	Working with Dr. Shelley Kelsey, Chantal and her students have focused on studying the air travel experience of marginalized groups over the past several years. Their projects have included the design of airport and cabin interiors, information systems, wayfinding and service models to include and support older adults, people living with obesity, in air travel design and evaluation. The team has also worked on pandemic research in air travel to support UX under these new conditions and the integration of VR/AR design in air travel design methodology.
NRC Aging in Place (AiP) Research Program	This 7 year research program focused on supporting a more inclusive and usable door-through-door travel experience for older Canadians. Students will work at Carleton and the NRC Centre for Air Travel Research (high-fidelity air travel simulation centre).