Ergonomics Product Development of a Mobile Workstation for Health Care
Risto Toivonen, Dong-Shik Choi, and Nina Nevala
Journal of Usability Studies, Volume 7, Issue 1, November 2011, pp. 40 - 50
Abstract
The use of information and communication technologies is increasing in health care, and patient information is being transferred into electronic format. The aim of this study was to test the ergonomics and usability of a mobile workstation prototype in actual work situations. The mobile workstation was tested by physicians (n=5) and nurses (n=3) during and after hospital rounds. The study produced 19 requirements for a usable product. The participants rated wheel function, screen height, the mobility of the terminal, and the adjustability of the terminal height as the best usability features of the prototype. The keyboard level, the mouse level, and the difficulty to install the computer into the terminal were reported as the most important points in need of improvement. The results of this study show that having physicians and nurses make subjective judgments about the usability of a mobile workstation adds value to its design.
Practitioner’s Take Away
The results of this study suggest the following:
- Usability tests can be carried out with doctors and nurses in real hospital situations.
- SUS and VAS can be used quickly by end users when assessing the usability of a product.
- Subjective judgments made by end users in the work setting add value to the judgments of experts, even when ergonomic factors are involved.
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Ergonomics Product Development of a Mobile Workstation for Health Care