Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/4565
Title: Design bugs out: a real world investigation of hospital bedside chairs and commodes
Authors: Dong, H
McGinley, C
Keywords: Design bugs out;Healthcare design;Infection control;Design scenarios;Commode design;Patient chair
Issue Date: 2009
Publisher: International Ergonomics Association (IEA)
Citation: The 17th World Congress on Ergonomics (IEA’09), 9-14 August 2009, Beijing, China
Abstract: Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) can affect both patients and healthcare workers. They are difficult to treat, and can complicate illnesses, cause distress, and even lead to death. HCAIs are also a huge financial burden on the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). Aiming to identify and fast-track the implementation of new technologies and design-led innovations to combat HCAIs, the UK’s Department of Health (DH), in partnership with the Purchasing and Supply Agency of the NHS and the Design Council, launched the Challenge ‘Design Bugs Out’ in September 2008. The design challenge invited teams of designers and manufacturers to redesign hospital furniture and equipment to make them easier to keep clean, and so help reduce patients’ exposure to HCAIs and improve their hospital experience. As a research partner of a winning team PearsonLloyd Design Consultancy and Kirton Healthcare Manufacturing) selected to answer this Challenge, the Human-Centred Design Institute (HCDI) at Brunel University conducted intensive design research focusing on bedside chairs and on-ward commodes. The research findings were used to inform the design process of the ward objects, towards the delivery of working prototypes in April 2009, to be displayed in a public exhibition and then taken on a national tour of selected hospitals for trial. This paper reports on the research process, aiming to extract useful information on a human-centred approach to healthcare design innovation.
Description: This paper was presented at the the 17th World Congress on Ergonomics (IEA’09) in August 2009, Beijing, China.
URI: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/4565
Appears in Collections:Design
Brunel Design School Research Papers

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