Dr. Budnick says, "There is a new design process standard for ergonomics under development between the International Ergonomics Association and the International Organization for Standardization called EQUID (Ergonomics Quality In Design). It lays the foundation to be used when designing for humans." He says that many people use words like Ergonomist, Human Factors Engineer, Usability Expert and User Experience Designer when describing their skills or services. "In fact, there is a wide variance of skill and knowledge among practitioners in this field, so I highly recommend that those seeking assistance or expertise in ergonomics look to professionals certified by the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics," says Dr. Budnick.

Ergonomic applications

Dr. Budnick highlights prescription drug labeling as an example of an ergonomic application many would overlook. He explains that such labeling has been fraught with poor design that literally guarantees tens of thousands of health issues or even fatalities each year due to errors in prescribing, administering or ingesting drugs. Often referred to as "human error," they are recognized as design errors by ergonomists. Applying a human-centered design approach would eliminate the majority of these mistakes. This example captures what ergonomists consider the cognitive domain. "In this case," says Dr. Budnick, "tiny writing and poorly conceived color coding conflict with effective human decision making, especially under the pressure demands typical in health care environments."

Another example, patient handling, focuses on protecting the caregiver. Patient handling has emerged as a hot-button issue for hospitals and long-term care facilities, driven by high injury rates among caregivers at a time when there's already an acute shortage of properly trained and qualified professionals in many regions. "To put it bluntly," Budnick says, "caregivers, especially the nursing population, which has a preponderance of woman, cannot be expected to lift and manipulate patients without risking injury. In many cases, the patients far outweigh the caregiver; the patient may not be cooperative; and handling a flexible, moving human body is difficult and dangerous under any circumstance." Many hospitals have pursued a "zero-lift" policy or other means to reduce or eliminate the amount of patient handling required of staff. The magnitude of this problem has also led to states as diverse as Texas and Washington to enact patient handling legislation, and HR 2381, Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009, was recently introduced at the federal level.