Rapid Development of a Hospital Checklist in a Time of COVID-19. Issue 4 (October 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lintern, Gavan; Motavalli, Al; Chua, Zarrin; Rantanen, Esa M.; Peres, S. Camille; Boorman, Daniel
• Is Part Of: Ergonomics in design. Volume 30:Issue 4(2022)
• Page Start: 5
• Page End: 13
• Publication Date: 2022-10
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- checklists -- crisis response -- infection control -- rapid design -- health care safety -- human factors in health care; Human engineering -- Periodicals; 620.8205
• DOI: 10.1177/1064804620963687
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1064-8046

Abstract

The discipline of human factors and ergonomics is largely focused on principled development of generalizable solutions. The process is typically slow, spanning months, even years. A crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic presents a different problem. How can human factors and ergonomics professionals react quickly, within hours or days, to provide viable solutions to unanticipated problems as they become apparent? Here we report on a small project in which we were able to respond rapidly to an emergent COVID-19 requirement. Given time constraints, we had no opportunity to follow a systematic analysis and design strategy. Our development and testing strategies reveal lessons that can be applied more generally to development of human factors and ergonomics interventions within emerging crises.