New human factors resource
Strategies for improving patient safety
1 June 2020
Human Factors plays a vital role in healthcare, yet few clinicians have an understanding of what Human Factors involves, how it impacts patient care, or how to find more information if needed.
The newly released Human Factors Resource for Clinicians, demonstrates the importance of Human Factors in ensuring healthcare work is performed safely and efficiently and to enable healthcare workers to recognise key risks in their environment.
This resourse was written by clinicians and human factors practitioners who are working in healthcare in Australia, and is edited by three human factors experts: Associate Professor Melissa Baysari, Dr Robyn Clay-Williams, and Dr Thomas Loveday.
It includes brief descriptions of topics relevant to healthcare, and associated case studies focusing on the various aspects of work.
As shown in the table below, the topics relate to physical, cognitive and organisational aspects of work.
Physical | Focused on the anatomical, anthropometric, physiological and biomechanical characteristics of people and how these affect interactions between humans and other elements of the work system |
Cognitive | Focused on mental processes like perception, memory, and reasoning how these affect interactions between humans and other elements of the work system |
Organisational | Focused on sociotechnical systems, including organisational structures, policies and processes |
The Human Factors Resource for Clinicians is freely available to view online or download from our website.
CENTRES RELATED TO THIS NEWS
Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT
Chrissy Clay, Research Outreach Coordinator on chrissy.clay@mq.edu.au
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