Activity analysis: applying activity theory to analyze complex work in hospitals

ABSTRACT

This paper presents "Activity Analysis" as a method for conducting and analyzing field studies based on Activity Theory. Two cases of activity analysis of work in a hospital ward and inside an operating room are presented. Guidelines for moving from Activity Analysis to systems design is presented and illustrated with the design of a context-aware system for hospitals.

References

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Index Terms

• Applied computing

  • Life and medical sciences

    • Health care information systems

• Human-centered computing

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)

    • HCI design and evaluation methods