Affiliation:
1. Land Division, Defence Science and Technology Group, Australia
2. School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Australia
Abstract
Physical comfort is a key ergonomic consideration when evaluating combat helmets because discomfort, which can exhibit as pressure spots, headaches, and migraines, can lead to distraction and have a detrimental effect on operational performance. Debate exists as to whether comfort and discomfort are two separate states or whether they are two points on the same scale. The aim of this study was to identify which distinction was relevant for the assessment of a combat helmet and to use this as a basis for selecting an outcome measure from a wide group of measures reported in literature. However, no existing measure was deemed suitable by users (dismounted soldiers) and a new outcome measure for the assessment of physical discomfort of combat helmets was developed with the users.
Subject
General Medicine,General Chemistry