Users as Designers: How People Cope with Poor HCI Design in Computer-Based Medical Devices

Obradovich, Jodi Heintz; Woods, David D.

doi:10.1177/154193129403801102

Cited by 39 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…To be published in Applied Ergonomics (2016). Woods, 1996;Vicente et al, 2003). Approaching designs using Human Factors engineering has proven to be an effective means to enhance positive performance outcomes, such as fewer errors, less time to performance tasks and lower mental effort (Lin et al, 1998;Syroid et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining situated Cognitive Engineering with a novel testing method in a case study comparing two infusion pump interfaces

et al. 2016

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining situated Cognitive Engineering with a novel testing method in a case study comparing two infusion pump interfaces

et al. 2016

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“…Optimisation occurs beyond the level of the individual but within the level of the team (Trist and Bamforth, 1951;Trist et al, 1963). This topic is very relevant for healthcare as there is a debate relating to the benefits that customisation provides (Obradovich and Woods, 1996), and little attention has been paid to how well the practices of customising fit with wider processes and controls, for example the medical device regulations that seek to define normal conditions of use which remain constant over time (Randell, 2003).…”

Section: Equipment Replacement and Socio-technical Systems (Sts)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, some of these behaviours might create additional risks. Obradovich and Woods (1996) state that when considered in a broader context adaptations may be brittle, produce unanticipated side effects or create new paths to failure. A more positive account is provided by Cook and Woods (1996) -e.g.…”

Section: Equipment Replacement and Socio-technical Systems (Sts)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the homecare environment this could involve customising the device to make it look discreet (O'Kane et al, 2015). In the hospital context equipment could be modified beyond the original design intent, as per accounts relating to barcoding systems (Koppel et al, 2008), alarm settings (Watson et al, 2004), physiological monitors (Cook and Woods, 1996) infusion pumps (Obradovich and Woods, 1996) and glucometers (Furniss et al, 2015).…”

Section: Equipment Replacement and Socio-technical Systems (Sts)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bags, batteries and boxes: A qualitative interview study to understand how syringe drivers are adapted and used by healthcare staff

Vincent

Blandford

2017

Applied Ergonomics

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Syringe drivers are medical devices that are critical for end of life care. They deliver continuous medication over extended periods of time. Their design contributes to the quality of experience for both patients and healthcare professionals. Little research has been published about the factors that influence the usability of this type of equipment for frontline users (i.e. those in direct contact with patients) and how equipment gets introduced. Understanding how syringe drivers are used in practice can help improve the design of equipment. 27 semi-structured interviews were conducted across acute hospitals, community hospitals and hospices (4 organisations in total). All participating organisations used the same type of syringe driver. It was found that frontline staff needed to adapt this equipment to fit the circumstances of use. The analysis provided examples of this happening for aspects relating to the appearance of the device (bags), accessories (batteries) and security (the lockable box).

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“…Numerous research reports, medical error reports, and other documents show a clear link between usability problems and user error. 7,8 For example, a physician treating an infant with oxygen set the flow knob between 1 and 2 liters per minute, then later noticed that the infant was not receiving any oxygen. Even though the knob rotated smoothly, the device was designed to deliver oxygen only when the knob was set on a number, not between numbers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating and Predicting Patient Safety for Medical Devices With Integral Information Technology

et al. 2005

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Human errors in medical device use account for a large portion of medical errors. Most of these errors are due to inappropriate designs for user interactions, rather than mechanical failures. Evaluating and predicting patient safety in medical device use is critical for developing interventions to reduce such errors either by redesigning the devices or, if redesign is not an option, by training the users on the identified trouble spots in the devices. We developed two methods for evaluating and predicting patient safety in medical devices with integral information technology, then applied and tested them on several infusion pumps. The first method is a modified discount-usability method called heuristic evaluation. The method was used to evaluate and compare the safety of two 1-channel volumetric infusion pumps. The results show that heuristic evaluation, when modified for medical devices, is a useful, efficient, and low-cost method for evaluating patient safety features of medical devices through the identification of usability problems and their severities. The second method is an extended hierarchical task analysis (EHTA), devised to predict medical errors in medical device use. EHTA divides the task space between the external world of the device interface and the internal cognitive world of the user, allowing for descriptive predictions of potential user errors at the human device level. Its use is demonstrated in the analysis of two infusion pumps. The estimates of the likelihood of user errors with the two pumps are consistent with the corresponding reported use errors in the Federal Drug Administration (FDA)'s Manufacturer and User Device Experience (MAUDE) database, thus demonstrating the usefulness of this tool for predicting medical device use errors.

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