This case study presents a multi-phase evaluation of wayfinding difficulties in an older hospital in the UK. The first three phases made use of conventional methods for exploring wayfinding difficulties. These included a questionnaire survey for patients, a wayfinding task followed by interviews, and a questionnaire survey for stakeholders. These exercises indicated that there was a problem with wayfinding which was primarily addressed by patients and visitors asking members of staff for directions. However, the exercises provided little in the way of specific recommendations for improving wayfinding. The fourth phase of the research used mobile eye-tracking combined with a wayfinding task and interviews to explore where visitors looked for information, what signs attracted attention, and for how long. As a result of this exercise specific recommendations were made on sign placement, use of colour, and associated issues. The final phase of the research repeated the eye-tracking exercise after the recommendations were implemented. Shorter journey times and positive comments in the interviews following this exercise indicated that the modifications were effective in improving the wayfinding experience. Mobile eye-tracking appears to have potential for helping to design effective wayfinding systems in large healthcare facilities.
Background Air-purifying, tight-fitting facepieces are examples of respiratory protective equipment and are worn to protect workers from potentially harmful particulate and vapors. Research shows that the presence of facial hair on users' face significantly reduces the efficacy of these devices. This article sets out to establish if an acceptable seal could be achieved between facial hair and the facepiece. The team also created and investigated a low-cost “pressure testing” method for assessing the efficacy of a seal to be used during the early design process for a facepiece designed to overcome the facial hair issue. Methods Nine new designs for face mask seals were prototyped as flat samples. A researcher developed a test rig, and a test protocol was used to evaluate the efficacy of the new seal designs against facial hair. Six of the seal designs were also tested using a version of the conventional fit test. The results were compared with those of the researcher-developed test to look for a correlation between the two test methods. Results None of the seals performed any better against facial hair than a typical, commercially available facepiece. The pressure testing method devised by the researchers performed well but was not as robust as the fit factor testing. Conclusion The results show that sealing against facial hair is extremely problematic unless an excessive force is applied to the facepiece's seal area pushing it against the face. The means of pressure testing devised by the researchers could be seen as a low-cost technique to be used at the early stages of a the design process, before fit testing is viable.
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