Kitchen ergonomics in health and healthcare: A rapid scoping review

Abstract

Although traditional workplace settings such as hospitals and clinics are well-studied, non-clinical areas like home kitchens, which connect clinical healthcare with the care provided in daily living settings, have received less attention. During the early stages of the global pandemic, there has been an increase in home cooking activities due to widespread isolation and restrictions imposed on dining publicly. Ergonomics is at the intersection between work environments and human task performance, and kitchen ergonomics informs knowledge on effective, safe, and efficient cooking practices while maintaining the desired kitchen functionality. Numerous contributions across various disciplines have added knowledge to the kitchen ergonomics area, and this rapid scoping review aims to synthesize the knowledge from these diverse disciplines and further understanding of user interactions with home kitchens. Adopting the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model, relevant research publications were synthesized into four major themes: Kitchen layout, arrangement, and environment; Kitchen tools and technology; Design criterion for users with special needs; Risks & Hazards related to kitchen activities. These themes summarizes the current state and gaps in kitchen ergonomics. In addition, these themes help identify future engineering opportunities for supporting health-related cooking activities in the home environment.

Keywords

• Ergonomics
• Sociotechnical systems
• Home kitchen
• Health