Psychiatry

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Psychiatric Care, Psychotherapy, Mental Health, Mental Hygiene

Category

Public Services, Public Facilities, Health Care, Clinical Facilities

Message / Function

To indicate the location of a clinical facility that deals with the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of deleterious mental conditions

	Source	Description
	Aicher & Krampen	Aureole
	NYCHHC	Smiley like face/sun with aureole made up from sixteen triangles
10	Hablamos Juntos	Frontal view of upper part of human figure, head surrounded by aureole of seven lines
15	Hablamos Juntos	Frontal view of upper part of two human figures close together, one with stethoscope plus arm on shoulders of the other, aureole
55	Hablamos Juntos	Side view of human figure sitting behind person on couch, clock above
5	Hablamos Juntos	Three contours of a face, two parallel, one mirrored horizontally, dot indicating eye
	nine	Side view of head, circle with cross in outline superimposed
60	Hablamos Juntos	Side view of head, three interlocking gears of differing size in occipital region
	SEGD/HJ	Side view of head, three interlocking gears of differing size in occipital region
	D'source	Side view of head, three circles, cut apart and shifted horizontally
	Aku-Johnson	Side view of head, brain indicated by pattern of angular lines
	Dreyfuss	Contour of head in side view, irregular shape with balance scale in occipital region
	Demushkin	Side view of head, brain indicated by spiral
	Dumbar-WH	Frontal view of human figure, head superimposed by spiral
	SIS	Frontal view of upper part of human figure, greek letter psi (Ψ) and cross in corners at top

Note: Some of the examples shown above were mirrored horizontally to contrast differences.

Discussion

A look at the collection above reveals the diversity of renderings used to indicate the location of a clinical facility that deals with the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of deleterious mental conditions. This set of symbols already indicates that no single visual stereotype exists for the referent Psychiatry. In the Australian Standard AS 2899.3 concerning Hospital Signs the authors also stated that, 'In spite of extensive research and testing, the committee was unable to resolve a suitable symbol for Psychiatry' (cited from Cowgill et al., 2003, page 1.18), reflecting the difficulties arising with this referent.

Data from the few studies available also show that comprehensibility of all variants examined is unsatisfactory:

Hablamos Juntos in partnership with SEGD (the Society for Environmental Graphic Design) developed several test designs to signify Psychiatry, of which five pictograms were subjected to a test on basis of the Comprehensibility Estimation procedure (Fontaine et al., 2010). With median scores ranging from 60 down to 5 none of the pictograms examined was judged as sufficiently comprehensible. The numbers next to the pictograms in the table above are the median estimation scores reported for the corresponding pictograms in this study. Regarding these results a new variant was designed, which is labeled as SEGD/HJ above.

Later the Swedish Institute for Standards set an initiative to reach international standardization of a pictogram for Psychiatric Care, labeled SIS above. Since results from a Comprehension Test were dissatisfying, this variant was not incorporated as public information symbol in ISO 7001. Even applying very lenient scoring, only 42.2 % of the responses were classified as correct for this pictogram (ISO, 2012). Applying stricter scoring, less than 4 % of the answers could have been seen as correct. The most frequent answers registered were Medical care, First aid, and Devotion room/religion.

Recommendations

Due to the fact that data from research as well as pictograms available are insufficient, we recommend development of additional variants, followed by testing using the Comprehensibility Estimation procedure for eliminating poor variants and identifying the best of the set available. Then a Comprehension Test should deliver useful data for recommending the best pictogram. Detailed information about the most frequent responses given in each of the response categories of the Comprehension Test should be provided to correctly judge comprehensibility and improve designs. Also information concerning knowledge about this medical specialization should be collected at the end of the test, as studies suggest that many terms used for healthcare facilities are often not understood well by people visiting hospitals or related institutions. This could also apply to the complex covered by the fields Psychiatric Care, Psychotherapy, Mental Health, Mental Hygiene, and Psychology.

Tests of pictograms of referent Psychiatry

ISO/TC 145/SC 1 (2012): COMMITTEE DRAFT ISO/CD PI PF 041pr, Reference number ISO/TC 145/SC 1 N 509: Psychiatric care. Dated 2012-01-18.

Fontaine, L., Fernández, O., & Middleton, D. (2010): Universal Symbols in Health Care - Symbol Design Research Report. SEGD.