A Public Health Perspective on Consumer Product Design

Abstract

Consideration of a public health perspective in consumer product design is a necessary enhancement to good product design, not just standard engineering practice. This study aims to determine a causal relationship between product design and level of injuries and related costs through the construction of a model that takes into account public health impacts of a particular design, both before product introduction and throughout the product life cycle. The model examines the relationship between design and injury rates by scoring injury data, which allows for interpretation as to design-related cause and potential removal of that cause through design change to eliminate a particular injury scenario.