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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
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Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use

Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices

Report of a Workshop

Roberta L. Klatzky, Nancy Kober, and Anne Mavor, editors

Committee on Human Factors

Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

National Research Council

National Academy Press
Washington, D.C. 1996

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is interim president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the service of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with the general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and interim vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

The work of the Committee on Human Factors is supported by the Department of Army Contract No. DAAD05-92-C-0087 issued by the U.S. Aberdeen Proving Ground Support Activity. The views and opinions and findings contained in this report are those of the author(s) and should not be construed as an official Department of Army position, policy, or decision, unless so designated by other official documentation.

Additional copies are available from the Committee on Human Factors, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418.

Copyright 1996 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
×

COMMITTEE ON HUMAN FACTORS

WILLIAM B. ROUSE (Chair),

Enterprise Support Systems, Norcross, Georgia

TERRY CONNOLLY,

Department of Management and Policy, College of Business and Public Administration, University of Arizona, Tucson

PAUL S. GOODMAN,

Center for Management of Technology, Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University

ROBERT L. HELMREICH,

NASA/UT Aerospace Crew Research Project, Austin, Texas

WILLIAM C. HOWELL,

American Psychological Association Science Directorate, Washington, D.C.

ROBERTA L. KLATZKY,

Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University

TOM B. LEAMON,

Liberty Mutual Research Center, Hopkinton, Massachusetts

ANN MAJCHRZAK,

Human Factors Department, Institute of Safety and Systems Management, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

DAVID C. NAGEL,

Worldwide Research and EV, OS and Technology Licensing, Apple Computer, Inc., Cupertino, California

BENJAMIN SCHNEIDER,

Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park

LAWRENCE W. STARK,

School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley

EARL L. WIENER,

Department of Management Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida

GREG L. ZACHARIAS,

Charles River Analytics, Cambridge, Massachusetts

ANNE S. MAVOR, Study Director

JERRY KIDD, Senior Adviser

SUSAN R. McCUTCHEN, Senior Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
×

Preface

The Committee on Human Factors was established in October 1980 by the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council. The principal objectives of the committee are to provide new perspectives on theoretical and methodological issues, to identify basic research needed to expand and strengthen the scientific basis of human factors, and to encourage the use of human factors principles and practices in the development of products and systems. Since its inception, the committee has issued more than a dozen reports regarding human factors applications, the state of knowledge, and research needs on topics deemed important by the committee and its sponsors.

The field of human factors provides a systematic approach to accommodating the capabilities and limitations of people in equipment design and training. Researchers in the field conduct studies that describe people's sensorimotor, cognitive, psychophysical, and anthropometric characteristics. The data from these studies are used by practitioners in conjunction with the results of targeted user studies to design work environments, to make equipment compatible with the intended user, and to develop effective training. Human factors issues arise in every domain in which people interact with the products of a technological society. To perform its role effectively, the committee draws on experts from a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines. Members of the committee include specialists in such fields as psychology, engineering, biomechanics, physiology, medicine, cognitive sciences, machine intelligence, computer sci-

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Safe, Comfortable, Attractive, and Easy to Use: Improving the Usability of Home Medical Devices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9058.
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