ABSTRACT
Patients complete physical work in pursuit of health goals. Physical patient ergonomics is defined as a focused domain within patient ergonomics where a physical ergonomics approach is used to support a patient’s or a non-professional caregiver’s effortful physical work activities (i.e., work activities that require physical perception or function performed in pursuit of health goals). Physical patient ergonomics research and applications use a range of physical ergonomics theories and methods to support multiple types of patient work tasks and account for multiple aspects of patient sensory ability and physical function. Two case studies illustrate applications of physical patient ergonomics to home healthcare device design and safe patient ambulation. We also present a discussion of challenges to defining the boundaries of physical patient ergonomics, given its intersection with other domains of patient ergonomics and patient-centered research areas.
