The emerging field of health engineering

Abstract

Background: Health has grown in importance in recent years to maintain ‘healthy’ systems in optimum conditions.

Objective: The goals of this article are to introduce the emerging field of health engineering, to examine its roots, to establish a framework for the inter-disciplinary studies of health engineering and to propose a blueprint for health engineering education and research. An additional goal is to propose a framework for the design and analysis of field studies as to demonstrate the versatility of field study designs and applications within the context of the proposed framework.

Methods: An electronic search of databases was conducted to survey the concept of health engineering and its related topics.

Results: The findings suggest that the field of health engineering has been practiced in fragmented fashion in isolated (not inter-disciplinary) disciplines. A global definition of HE was provided and it was distinguished from other related fields that are narrower in scope. A framework was established for inter-disciplinary studies on HE research and education. The proposed curriculum consisted of five elements on the basis of the Drexel E⁴ innovative model for undergraduate engineering education: (1) mathematical and scientific foundations; (2) HE fundamentals; (3) HE laboratory; (4) professional practice and personal enrichment; and (5) specialized knowledge. Finally, the ‘Define–Measure–Analyse–Improve–Control’ framework of the Six-Sigma methodology was proposed as a guide to researchers and practitioners concerned with designing and analysing field studies aiming at the identification, improvement and maintenance of the health or well-being of individuals.

Concluding remarks: Future efforts should concentrate on defining the scope of the emerging field of HE for the different stakeholders.

Keywords:

• Health engineering
• Curriculum
• Emerging