ABSTRACT
This report is about a pilot study of a usability evaluation protocol in a Hong Kong hospital setting. A very common patient care activity, known as the "spike-in procedure", which involved the insertion of a tubing spike into intravenous fluid bottles, was chosen for the study. Tailor-made ergonomic device to ease the spikein procedure was designed with active participation of frontline nurses. A protocol for product evaluation was developed and pilot tested in various work units. The findings indicate that the musculoskeletal problems of the nurses and specific job demands in performing the procedure in different work settings are essential factors to consider in future usability evaluations. By refinement of the evaluation protocol, the provision of more user-centered devices may be facilitated through systcmatic mcthods of collecting essential information for product design, and this also serves as a major step to promote wellness at work.
