Designers in a collaborative project between RMIT and Peninsula Health have 3D-knitted bespoke hospital scrubs and 3D printed chill out pods for healthcare workers.
The Safety Sensescaping project - funded by WorkSafe's WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund - is part of Peninsula Health’s Thriving in Health program, which aims to create safe and mentally healthy environments for healthcare workers.
Project lead and RMIT senior lecturer in the School of Design Dr Olivier Cotsaftis worked with doctors, nurses and non-clinicians at Peninsula Health for three years to understand the psychosocial hazards in their workplace and find design-led solutions to prevent mental injury.
Cotsaftis said hospital scrubs were an unconscious source of stress for many healthcare workers. Designed according to the standard male or female body, scrubs do not typically accommodate the wide range of body shapes and sizes.
Scrubs are also often made from scratchy synthetic materials, Cotsaftis said, which can cause the wearer to overheat quickly.
“Many workers don’t realise how being uncomfortable in scrubs can add extra stress to an already stressful job,” Cotsaftis said. “Some workers we spoke to said their scrubs felt suffocating during highly stressful situations.”
Cotsaftis said having comfortable scrubs that were tailored to an individual’s body was an effective way to improve the mental health of workers.
“In a job where there is little control over what you do, feeling comfortable in your uniform and how you present yourself can help a person reclaim a sense of their identity,” he said.
Starting with body scanning technology to map out the body’s measurements, Cotsaftis then used 3D-knitting technology to create the scrubs.
The final prototype used yarn made from a blend of organic cotton and Seacell - an algae-based cellulose material. According to Cotsaftis, it was a breathable, comfortable and well-fitted set of scrubs, approved by Peninsula Health staff.
Nurse Erin Colgan, who tested Cotsaftis’ prototypes, said she was not aware of how negatively her generic navy scrubs impacted her mental health until she was involved in the Safety Sensescaping project.
“This project has made me understand the impact scrubs and uniforms have on mental health and I have decided to change how my scrubs make me feel,” she said.
Cotsaftis is hoping to work with tech companies to fine-tune the 3D knitting and make the process more streamlined. He is also hoping to source new yarns made from organic waste to make the scrubs more sustainable.
Sound absorbing furniture
Alongside the uniform design, Cotsaftis and his team designed a suite of portable, modular and cost-effective 3D-printed furniture, designed to give healthcare workers a more restful break.
“Many healthcare workers take breaks wherever they can, but there may not be any seats to sit on or they might lack privacy,” he said.
“They’re also subjected to lots of noise pollution, which makes it difficult for them to de-stress.”
The furniture could be printed on demand when needed by the hospital, and industrially composted at the end of its life. It was also sound-absorbing.
The prototypes are made from corn polylactic acid (PLA) - a compostable and carbon-neutral natural plastic - and recycled paper for its sound-absorbent properties.
Cotsaftis’ furniture design includes the use of rounded patterns, allowing sound to travel through the furniture rather than bounce off the surface.
Cotsaftis said his research with Safety Sensescaping highlighted how human-centred design can change the way many different products are created.
“Design is often misunderstood as form and aesthetic, but it also includes the broader systems we sometimes interact with, such as health care,” he said.
“What we’ve designed is not just innovative scrubs or furniture, but a design strategy that can be used to tackle any work-related factors contributing to poor staff mental wellbeing in health care.”
‘2023 Safety Sensescaping Research and Engagement Report’ and ‘Thriving in Health: Safety Sensescaping - A design approach to workplace mental health’ were prepared for and published by Peninsula Health’s Thriving in Health program.
The research was led by Dr Olivier Cotsaftis from RMIT University in collaboration with Peninsula Health and supported by WorkSafe's WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund.