Making the Bed
Ergonomic Hospital Bed Redesign
Presented and submitted in SYDE 162: Human Factors in Design by Jasleen Badwal
Purpose:
Hospital beds have an outdated design that fails to serve patients and practitioners alike. This report uses design principals to better understand what needs healing.
This is a research based design recommendation supplemental for SYDE 162: Human Factors in Design project on healthcare service design.
Scope:
The scope of this project was to use academic journals on human factors in design, ergonomics and healthcare to analyze a problem in a healthcare technology.
Moreover, to use design research metho
Guiding Research
Through use of the following academic journals on ergonomic design of hospital beds, this design was formulated and supported. Included below are key conclusions across each paper and citation.
A key consideration when designing hospital beds are healthcare workers. While beds are used primarily by patients, nurses and other healthcare workers interact with them more often. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill identified many of these ergonomic stressors like lifting patients as causing major health issues later on (Hospital Ergonomics 2022). Awkward postures and repeated activity overtime can manifest into long term and irreversible injuries (Hospital Ergonomics 2022). Therefore, in ergonomic design, the patient and the practitioner must both be considered.
Another suggestion would be to optimize the use of engineering controls to avoid strenuous activity. Tools like lifting belts and adjustable IV stands eliminate the need for constant uncomfortable postures. Tools like these would allow for healthcare professionals to adjust settings without leaving the bedside or needing to move around the room (Hospital Ergonomics 2022). A positive result of the integration of tools is that the change would ensure there is ease of maneuverability of people and equipment in a patient's room.
Current State
Repeated lifting into and out of bed is strenuous on workers
Fatigue and discomfort may cloud understanding of condition
Difficult for paients requiring size based or proportional adjustments
Wires and sensors may interfere with mobility or cause false alarm system engagement
Stakeholder Analysis
1 - Most applicable - 4 Least applicable/ Not applicable
Doctor | Volunteer | Patient | Nurse | |
Interaction with hospital bed | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Risk of injury involving bed | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Moving around hospital | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Role related physical strain | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
*Please note that due to limitations in materials and resources, this focus group has not undergone extensive analysis for potential biases beyond the initial screening. Therefore, it is essential to consider additional perspectives in future evaluations and decision-making processes.
Design Recommendations
Extendable midsections to ensure comfortable coverage
Raising mechanisms to alleviate repeated bending motions from practioners
Can recline and sit up to aid in patient moving onto and off on the bed
Wheels away from the bed frame boarder to avoid injury while transporting
5 Minute Model
Mock Design
Along with tucked in wheels, the ability to extend and lower the head and foot of the bed for easy raising and lowering of patients.
Important Considerations
Through use of anthropometric testing done through measurement of standard ranges or body parts over percentiles, genders, and sometimes cultures. These measurements include factors like height, weight, and BMI.
Optimizing hospital bed design for enhanced user experience is crucial for catering to the diverse needs of patients, practitioners, and maintaining a people-centered approach. Recognizing the varied preferences for different bed settings, as well as the variations in torso height, line of sight, and comfortable posture among individuals, becomes pivotal.
Given the inherent differences in human proportions, it is imperative to design hospital beds that can accommodate this diversity. To achieve this, the overall design should consider both ends of the medium, extending at least 1 standard deviation to encompass 95% of users. This approach ensures a more inclusive and adaptable environment, contributing to a positive and comfortable experience for a broad spectrum of users.
Mock Design Test
The testing methodology must be a multi-faceted approach with both quantitative and qualitative measures to comprehensively assess the ergonomic performance of the designs. Key aspects include adjustability, ease of operation, accessibility, and user satisfaction.
Usability testing will involve healthcare professionals and end-users (patients/family) incorporating their feedback to identify potential design improvements. This will also need to involve various loctations like hospital rooms, operating rooms and transporting around. This iterative process allows for the refinement of features to enhance user experience.
Moreover, through use of statistics and regression modelling, we can gain more insight on elevation, frame perimeter and injury and find a model that can be more promising than the generic hospital bed design.
Works Cited
Caprani, N., O’Connor, N. E., & Gurrin, C. (n.d.). Touch Screens for the Older User. https://doras.dcu.ie/16870/1/InTech-Touch_screens_for_the_older_user.pdf
Comer, R., Ogden, N., Boyes, M., Field, E., & Gould, E. (2021). Psychology Around Us (4th Canadian ed.). Wiley Loose-Leaf Print Edition.
International Health Facility Guidelines. https://healthfacilityguidelines.com/ViewPDF/ViewIndexPDF/iHFG_part_c_ergonomics
Mehta, R. K., Horton, L. M., Agnew, M. J., & Nussbaum, M. A. (2011). Ergonomic evaluation of hospital bed design features during patient handling tasks. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 41(6), 647–652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2011.07.005
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (2022, November 29). Hospital ergonomics. Environment, Health and Safety. https://ehs.unc.edu/topics/ergonomics/hospital-ergonomics/