Human Factors in Healthcare

Human Factors in Healthcare is a public health and patient safety discipline that focuses on understanding how people interact with healthcare systems, technologies, and environments. It examines human capabilities, limitations, behaviors, and decision-making to design safer, more efficient healthcare processes. In public health, human factors aim to reduce medical errors, improve patient safety, and enhance the quality of care by addressing issues such as workload, communication, teamwork, fatigue, and system design. Applying human factors principles helps optimize clinical workflows, improve the usability of medical devices and health information systems, and support effective collaboration among healthcare professionals. It also considers patient behavior and engagement, ensuring care processes are understandable and accessible. By aligning healthcare systems with human needs and real-world conditions, human factors in healthcare contribute to safer practices, better health outcomes, reduced risks, and more resilient and reliable health systems.