Using an Alarm For Safety

Using an alarm for safety is an effective way to get help in the event of a personal or workplace emergency. Alarms can be triggered by motion sensors, pressure sensors, gyroscopes, accelerometers, and light and temperature sensors. Some alarms can also be triggered by manual user input or by an integrated mobile phone app. Many of these alarms can be paired with a siren or flashing strobe that will attract attention to the user and scare off any potential attackers. Many of these alarms have adjustable volume controls, so that the sound can be adapted to any environment.

Personal alarms can be especially useful for women, who are the primary victims of sexual assault and homicide. Women are often portrayed as damsels in distress, and as such, attackers assume that they won’t be able to fight back or summon help. Personal alarms can help change this perception by providing women with a safe, discreet, and easy-to-use self-defense tool that they can take with them wherever they go.

These alarms can be used for a variety of purposes, including helping a person to escape from an attacker, attracting attention in the event of a medical emergency, or alerting a loved one of an impending storm. They can be worn as jewelry, attached to clothing, or placed in a bag or purse for added security when traveling by car, train, airplane, or boat. They can be activated by pulling the strap or a button, and some even come with a GPS tracking feature to make it easier for loved ones to find their location in case of an emergency.

panic button Alarms are essential for a variety of healthcare settings, and many hospitals have varying policies around what types of alarms are permitted within their facility. It would be helpful if healthcare organizations established basic guidelines that all facilities could adhere to in order to ensure they are using alarms safely and effectively.





In order to better understand the factors that should be considered when designing healthcare-related alarms, we analyzed documentation containing alarm design and use guidelines from the automotive, aviation, and nuclear industries. We qualitatively analyzed the content of these documents to identify relevant guidelines, and then compared them to the current practices and standards that are in place at various healthcare organizations. This analysis provides a framework that can be used to support discussions with healthcare stakeholders about how to optimize safe and usable alarm parameters, and it may also serve as a starting point for new ideas about best practices in healthcare. This article was written by a team of human factors and clinical professionals from the University of Michigan Health System.