Background: Adequate chair design and comfort are essential to the educational
environment. Aim: The current study investigated the effect of cushion
characteristics on student comfort during class time, aiming to increase the
students' comfort and positively affect their academic gain. Material and methods:
Thirty-nine volunteer female students participated in this study. Two types of
foam were used; the first type was characterized by a density of 25kg/m3, hard,
and elasticity of 80.15 N/cm2. The second type was characterized by a 26kg/m3
density, softness, and elasticity of 26.081 N/cm2.The dimensions used for the
cushions of both types of foam were 40cm*40cm for both the seat pan cushion
and back support cushion, a thickness of 8 cm for the seat pane cushion, and 4cm
for the back support. The body part discomfort scale and Comfort and discomfort
scale were used for assessment after using the cushions for one and a half hours.
Results: The results revealed that general comfort and body part comfort were not
different when comparing both cushions. On the other hand, the intensity of pain
in the body part discomfort significantly increased when using hard cushioning.
Conclusion: Cushion hardness did not affect the subjective sensation of comfort
and discomfort, while a hard cushion may cause pain in certain body parts
during use.
Keywords: Seat, comfort, cushion