Putting the Human Touch into Human Factors During the Pandemic
Putting the Human Touch into Human Factors During the Pandemic Thank you to all essential workers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been quick to recognize healthcare workers as heroes, and rightly so. But as a human factors researcher, coronavirus has highlighted that our heroes are something more important than heroes: they’re human. As of late January 2021, it is estimated that more than 3,000 healthcare workers have died of COVID-19, with workers of color disproportionately affected by the virus. As the rest of the world settles into the “new normal,” healthcare workers are instead growing in frustration and anxiety as they continue to put their lives on the line. Fortunately, medical technology has been evolving rapidly to prioritize healthcare worker safety during the pandemic and beyond. Telemedicine visits have grown exponentially during COVID-19 and continue to remain high. The medical device industry is pivoting, too: in October, AAMI published an emergency guidance