Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health and Social Care

Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health and Social Care is written for health and social care professionals who need to apply human factors principles in real clinical environments. Developed by leading experts with over 50 years of cumulative experience, this textbook provides a practice-focused introduction to human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) in healthcare, helping you translate theory into safe, effective action.

You will learn how HF/E influences patient safety, clinical decision-making and system performance across healthcare settings. With a strong emphasis on real-world application, it shows how to identify where systems fail and how to make targeted improvements to clinical work systems, staff experience and care delivery.

Poorly designed interactions between people, systems and environments lead to increased errors and worse outcomes. This textbook helps you identify those risks and respond with practical, evidence-informed approaches.

Structured to align with CIEHF competencies, the content supports both learning and immediate application. If you are preparing for practice or working in clinical settings, it provides you with a system-based understanding of how human factors influence safety and performance in health and social care.

What you will gain:

• Apply human factors and ergonomics principles directly in primary care and wider clinical settings
• Use case studies to improve clinical decision-making and reduce system-based errors
• Understand how people, equipment, environments and processes interact in healthcare systems
• Identify risks in clinical workflows and implement safer, more efficient ways of working
• Strengthen patient safety, staff experience, and overall care outcomes through practical action

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