Jamie Mackrill

Developing interior design briefs for health-care and well-being centres through public participation

Public participation is an increasingly important part of the design process for health-care environments and services. Public participation often occurs towards the end of the design process, rather than at the start where the biggest influence is possible. This research used a variety of methods to enable public participation from the start of the design process. Its aim was to examine potential end users’ expectations and needs for the physical environment to develop interior design briefs for a well-being centre. Fifty-three Trust members at a London NHS Hospital, UK, were involved in structured group workshops. These consisted of surveys and open discussions, table discussions, and 2D and 3D designing. Analysis identified four over-arching themes; atmosphere, initial points of contact, waiting experience, and health assessments. The results, in combination with existing evidence-based research, led to the development of an interior design brief consisting of 26 design recommendations for a well-being centre. These may form the basis for any health-care and well-being centre, thereby adding to the growing body of evidence informing the design of future health-care physical environments.

Review of technologies available to improve hand hygiene compliance – are they fit for purpose?

Hand hygiene has been empirically proven to prevent cross-transmission of infection, which has led to the development of global guidelines such as the World Health Organization’s ‘My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene.’ Because of the relatively recent launch of these guidelines (2009) technology designed to assist in measuring hand hygiene compliance appears not to fully acknowledge the influence of the WHO 5 Moments for hand hygiene Consequently, they may not be fit for purpose (FFP). This paper uses a review of the literature on current hand hygiene technology to assess the extent to which these are FFP based on these global guidelines. The results show that there are a variety of technologies available to assist with the monitoring and measurement of hand hygiene levels. However, none appear to explicitly achieve detection of all WHO 5 Moments for hand hygiene, limiting their effectiveness. The authors conclude that a systems approach offers a potential aid for developers aspiring to meet domain specific FFP requirements. Human factors may help guide such developments to meet user and context specific needs.

Assessing user-acceptance towards automated and conventional sink use for hand decontamination using the Technology Acceptance Model

Abstract Hand hygiene (HH) prevents harmful contaminants spreading in settings including domestic, health care and food handling. Strategies to improve HH range from behavioural techniques through to automated sinks that ensure hand surface cleaning. This study aimed to assess user experience and acceptance towards a new automated sink, compared to a normal sink. An adapted version of the technology acceptance model (TAM) assessed each mode of handwashing. A within-subjects design enabled N = 46 participants to evaluate both sinks. Perceived Ease of Use and Satisfaction of Use were significantly lower for the automated sink, compared to the conventional sink (p < 0.005). Across the remaining TAM factors, there was no significant difference. Participants suggested design features including jet strength, water temperature and device affordance may improve HH technology. We provide recommendations for future HH technology development to contribute a positive user experience, relevant to technology developers, ergonomists and those involved in HH across all sectors. Practitioner Summary: The need to facilitate timely, effective hand hygiene to prevent illness has led to a rise in automated handwashing systems across different contexts. User acceptance is a key factor in system uptake. This paper applies the technology acceptance model as a means to explore and optimise the design of such systems.

Situated design methods

© 2017 Edward Lovesey https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2017.1322276 Around this time the Scientific Research Establishment structures were changing to the all embracing Defence Research Agency (DRA). This was, in theory, to allow much of the scientific support to be supplied directly to the military user. Rolfe and most of the scientists and engineers thought this change would ignore what had been learned on how to work successfully with military users and so it proved. The change from individual establishments to the DRA removed the ability for there to be an independent body that understood both the military requirements and the contractor’s knowledge of the psychological problems of which they needed to be aware and solve.