HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DEVICES FOR LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS AT HOSPITAL DISCHARGE

Cindy Janneth Rondón Cachopo¹; Antonio Celso Fonseca de Arruda¹

¹ Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil

doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-1785

Resumo

The low birth weight infants (<2500 grams) must be transported under special conditions after hospital discharge. These special conditions are associated with physiological immaturity and low weight state that encourage the need of differentiated retention devices of conventionally existing products. A human-centered design approach was used to develop two solutions or projects for the low birth weight infant transportation, a solution for using in particular vehicles and another for using in collective vehicles. This report describes the methodology employed in the design process and the conclusions found with this approach. Previous studies were necessary to establish the state of the art of existing products, as well as the target population and the context of use. These studies have enabled researchers to recognize the most important users' needs, which defined the parameters of the projects. The solutions developed were evaluated through a series of interviews, with groups of health staff from Neonatal Area and mothers of low birth weight infants, followed by usability tests. The human-centered design approach embraced three user groups: neonates, family members and health staff. These three groups were involved around the design process, this enabled to meet important aspects for the solutions realization and to achieve user acceptance. Two designs of transport devices that comply the parameters of the projects were obtained through an iterative design process. The enforcement of human-centered design methods in the development of solutions for users with special healthcare needs, as such in the low birth weight newborns case, proved to be a suitable mean to develop solutions that better address specific needs for the user groups.

Palavras-chave: Product design; Human-centered design; Low birth weight infants transportation