Why and How to Approach User Experience in Safety-Critical Domains: The Example of Health Care

OBJECTIVE: To highlight the importance of the personal experience of users who interact with technology in safety-critical domains and summarize three interaction concepts and the associated theories that provide the means for addressing user experience. BACKGROUND: In health care, the dominant concepts of interaction are based on theories arising from classic cognitive psychology. These concepts focus mainly on safety and efficiency, with too little consideration being given to user experience. METHOD: Users in complex socio-technical and safety-critical domains such as health care interact with many technological devices. Enhancing the user experience could improve the design of technology, enhance the well-being of staff, and contribute to modern safety management. We summarize concepts of “interaction” based on modern theories of human–computer interaction, which include the personal experience of users as an important construct. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Activity theory, embodiment, and interaction as experience provide a theoretical foundation for considering user experience in safety-critical domains. Using an example from anesthesiology, we demonstrate how each theory provides a unique but complementary view on experience. Finally, the methodological possibilities for considering personal experience in design and evaluations vary among the theories. APPLICATION: Considering user experience in health care and potentially other safety-critical domains can provide an additional means of optimizing interaction with technology, contributing to the well-being of staff, and improving safety.