This module explains what Human Factors are. It's about designing our workplace, equipment, and processes to fit people, rather than forcing people to fit the system. We look at how this idea, which helped make aviation safe, is now so important for improving patient safety.

Learning Outcomes

• Define 'Human Factors' and 'Ergonomics'.
• Explain the relevance of safety-critical industries (like aviation) to healthcare.
• Define three key terms: systems thinking, ergonomics, and situational awareness.

What are Human Factors?

In the simplest terms, Human Factors (sometimes called 'Ergonomics') is about

"designing jobs and equipment which are fit for people."

For decades, when something went wrong in healthcare, the first question was often: "Who made a mistake?" This approach focuses on the individual, assuming that errors are caused by personal failings like a lack of attention, knowledge, or care.

A Human Factors approach completely flips this question. It assumes that all humans, even the most experienced and dedicated, have limitations. We all get tired, distracted, and can be overwhelmed by pressure.

Therefore, a Human Factors approach stops asking:

"Why did you make a mistake?"

And starts asking:

"How did our system (our processes, our equipment, our culture) make it easy for this mistake to happen?"

It is a scientific discipline that looks at the interactions between humans and all the other parts of the system we work in.

By understanding these interactions, we can proactively design safer systems that support our work and mitigate our limitations.

Origins and Relevance to Healthcare

The field of Human Factors has its roots in other safety-critical industries, particularly aviation, energy, and the military.

In the early days of aviation, most accidents were blamed on mechanical failure. As technology improved, planes became much more reliable, but accidents still happened. Investigators made a crucial discovery: "human error, rather than mechanical failure, underlies most aviation accidents."

They realised that simply telling pilots to "be more careful" was not a strategy. Instead, they began to redesign the systems around the pilot:

This approach is directly relevant to healthcare. An estimated 80% of errors in healthcare are attributed to Human Factors. Like aviation, healthcare is a complex, high-stakes environment where human performance is critical.

A key concept from aviation is the "Dirty Dozen." These are 12 of the most common 'preconditions' or causes of human error. They are not personal failings; they are predictable, universal risks.

The "Dirty Dozen"

• Lack of Communication
• Distraction
• Lack of Resources
• Stress
• Complacency
• Lack of Teamwork
• Pressure
• Lack of Awareness
• Lack of Knowledge
• Fatigue
• Lack of Assertiveness
• Norms ("the way we do things around here")

As you can see, this list is a great description of the daily challenges faced by healthcare professionals. A Human Factors approach gives us a framework to talk about and manage these risks.

Terminology

You will hear three key terms used throughout this module. Let's define them simply:

Systems Thinking
This is the opposite of 'person-blaming'. It's the understanding that healthcare is a complex system. To improve safety, we must improve the whole system (the processes, culture, and equipment), not just focus on the actions of the individual involved in an error.

Ergonomics
Often used interchangeably with Human Factors, this focuses on the fit between people and the things they use and the environment they are in. This can be physical (like the design of a chair or a medical device) or cognitive (like how information is displayed on a computer screen).

Situational Awareness
A simple way to think of this is: "Knowing what is happening around you, understanding what it means, and thinking ahead about what might happen next." We will explore this in detail later.

Key Takeaways

• Human Factors is about designing systems, jobs, and equipment that are fit for people.
• It means we shift from blaming individuals to fixing the system.
• This approach was pioneered in aviation when it was found that 'human error' was the main cause of most accidents, just as it is in healthcare.
• Predictable risks like fatigue, stress, distraction, and pressure (part of the 'Dirty Dozen') are challenges we must design our systems to manage.