Human Factors Hub

Guide

Ten Facts about Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) In this brief guide, Ten Facts about the ‘true’ purpose and approach of Human Factors & Ergonomics in Health and Social Care are outlined and a few unfortunate but common misunderstandings are corrected.

The science of Human Factors separating fact from fiction

This article from the British Medical Journal Quality & Safety journal outlines the scientific discipline of human factors, which uses a blend of psychology and engineering to improve the design of technologies, processes and work systems, particularly in healthcare. The authors dispel common misconceptions about human factors by arguing that it's not about eliminating human error but rather designing systems that are resilient to unanticipated events, that it focuses on modifying system design

Challenges with work procedures

A list of the challenges with work procedures such as Clinical Protocols, Checklists, Standard Operating Procedures, Policies, Guidelines

Systems thinking principles for Safety Learning

We aim to work with informed health and care professionals and safety experts to build consensus on a series of useful Systems Thinking principles that can be integrated into related policy, education, research and practice to influence our understanding of how and why ‘success’ and ‘failure’ are achieved from everyday care work, and how we learn holistically from these system outcomes. This factsheet provides some examples of Systems Thinking Principles.