Design for Health: Applications of Human Factors

Design for Health: Applications of Human Factors delves into critical and emergent issues in healthcare and patient safety and how the field of human factors and ergonomics play a role in this domain. The book uses the Design for X (DfX) methodology to discuss a wide range of contexts, technologies, and population dependent criteria (X’s) that must be considered in the design of a safe and usable healthcare ecosystem. Each chapter discusses a specific topic (e.g., mHealth, medical devices, emergency response, global health, etc.), reviews the concept, and presents a case study that demonstrates how human factors techniques and principles are utilized for the design, evaluation or improvements to specific tools, devices, and technologies (Section 1), healthcare systems and environments (Section 2), and applications to special populations (Section 3). The book represents an essential resource for researchers in academia as well as practitioners in medical device industries, consumer IT, and hospital settings. It covers a range of topics from medication reconciliation to self-care to the artificial heart.