ABSTRACT
Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) evolved for nearly a century into a discipline recognized to significantly contribute to health and health care. Patient ergonomics represents continued evolution as HFE is applied to study and improve the health-related work of patients, families, and other nonprofessionals. The maturing work in patient ergonomics described in the first of two volumes in The Patient Factor, the first handbook of its kind, reveals ten takeaway themes: (1) patient work is jointly cognitive, physical, and organizational; (2) patient work is a journey; (3) patient work occurs in diverse systems contexts; (4) patient work is distributed; (5) technologies to aid patient work must be designed and tested for usability; (6) patients are experts capable of contributing in multiskilled teams; (7) traditional HFE methods can (and must!) be adapted to patient work; (8) applying patient ergonomics methods has ethical implications; (9) applying patient ergonomics methods has practical implications; and (10) patient ergonomics is about both the basic and applied science of patient work. These takeaways pave the way for next steps in development of patient ergonomics.
