Pulmonology

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Pulmonologist, Pulmonary Medicine Department, Respiratory Physician, Respiratory Care, Chest Care

Category

Public Services, Public Facilities, Health Care, Clinical Facilities

Message / Function

To indicate the location of a clinical facility that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the lungs or chest resp. the respiratory system

	Source	Description
	Dumbar-WH	Frontal view of standing human figure, throat and lungs indicated as sectional view
	Aku-Johnson	Clipped frontal view of human figure, lungs indicated by two rectangles
	Dreyfuss	Clipped frontal view of human figure, lungs indicated by two rounded rectangles touching each other
	D'source	Upper part of human figure, breathing tube and lungs indicated as sectional view
	Aicher OAP	Upper part of human figure, bronchial tubes and lungs indicated by several lines
60	Hablamos Juntos	Upper part of human figure, breathing tube and lungs indicated as sectional view
	SEGD/HJ	Upper part of human figure, respiratory system indicated using filled areas and dotted lines
90	Hablamos Juntos	Upper part of human figure, respiratory system indicated using filled areas and dotted lines
80	Hablamos Juntos	Upper part of human figure, respiratory system indicated using filled areas and dotted lines
65	Hablamos Juntos	Sectional view of lungs and bronchial tubes
	Nicola Simpson	Sectional view of lungs and bronchial tubes
70	Hablamos Juntos	Sectional view of lungs and bronchial tubes, cross in upper corner
	CNIS	Stethoscope, clipped frontal view of human figure, bronchial tubes and lungs indicated as sectional view
	Adrien Coquet	Stethoscope with cross, sectional view of lungs and bronchial tubes

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

Discussion

The examples shown above indicate that there might be a visual stereotype to indicate a clinical facility that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the lungs or chest resp. the respiratory system: a front view of a human figure with the respiratory system indicated as sectional view. Other pictograms are rare and mostly display a sectional view of the lungs and bronchial tubes.

We found only two studies that present research covering pictogram variants for this referent:

Hablamos Juntos in partnership with SEGD (the Society for Environmental Graphic Design) developed several test designs to signify Respiratory Care, 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 90 down to 60 several of the pictograms examined were judged as 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 - labeled as SEGD/HJ above - was designed on basis of the variant rated as most comprehensible.

In a follow up project this symbol was examined - among others - by Zender & Cassedy (2014) using the ISO/ANSI Open-ended Comprehension Test to find out if this variant is understood just as well in a different culture, and if not, why it does not work. Test results from the United States and Tanzania reveal that this pictogram basically might work well in the USA, as 88 % of the responses from the American sample could be classified as correct. But in the Tanzanian sample it became evident that this variant does not work everywhere: it performed well among respondents with advanced medical literacy with 80 % correct, but not among typical local patients, as only 10 % answered correctly. The failure was considered to be due to insufficient knowledge about this medical specialization.

In our database we did not find comprehensibility data concerning some other image contents shown, as for example the Chinese pictogram with the stethoscope added.

Recommendations

Due to the fact that data from research is insufficient, we recommend testing using the Comprehensibility Estimation procedure for eliminating poor variants and identifying the best of the set available, followed by a Comprehension Test. These studies 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.

Tests of pictograms of referent Pulmonology

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

Zender, M., & Cassedy, A.E. (2014): (Mis)understanding: Icon Comprehension in Different Cultural Contexts. Visible Language, 48, 69.