Human Factors for Health Professionals

A practical guide for staff at the frontline

A Human Factors Resource for Health Professionals and Health Services Staff has been developed with the support of:

• The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia (HFESA)
• The Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University
• The Clinical Excellence Commission

Editors

• Associate Professor Melissa Baysari
• Dr Robyn Clay-Williams - Australian Institute of Health Innovation
• Dr Thomas Loveday

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 goal of this Human Factors Resource is to demonstrate 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 resource 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, the topics relate to physical, cognitive and organisational aspects of work.

The Chapters are designed to provide an overview of the topic to a broad audience. For more information on a topic area, further reading is included at the end of each chapter.

Access the resource for free here:

Research related to this project

Human Factors and Resilience Research Stream

Centres related to this project

Centre for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science