Call for Papers: Special Issue in Healthcare Human Factors
Posted February 17, 2025
Human Factors Considerations with Biometric Data
Submission deadline: 01 July 2025
Human factors in healthcare is now well-established regarding enhancing and validating patient safety with the use of medical devices, including in the home setting and with consumer-facing interfaces. Advances in technical capabilities and access to wearable sensors and patient portals have created new opportunities and risks with biometric data. In the era of the “quantified self,” utilizing wearable devices and mobile health (mHealth) apps have enabled the capture of dozens, if not hundreds, of biometric parameters throughout our daily living. The idea that this information can become motivation for health behavior change is not new, but the availability of passively collected continuous feedback from wearable devices and mobile apps has fundamentally changed the way we view and process such information. Some devices and apps have an accompanying dashboard to share this data with users, but these features are often based on proprietary formulas that may not always align with the human factors guidelines and heuristics, standard of care, or peer-reviewed evidence. Finally, it is not clear how to ensure inter-usability of biometric and self-reported data integrated into a summary display, particularly when there is varying reliability of source data and validity with respect to what is collected compared to what is clinically useful.
Novel interventions and programs have emerged from research teams interested in helping individual patients soundly interpret the data and apply the information to make decisions about their health and wellness goals in a meaningful way. This Special Issue plans to publish high-quality research or quality improvement studies that address similar interventions. Questions that are within the scope include, but are not limited to, the following:
- How to decide which data streams to include?
- How to present multiple data streams without overwhelming the user?
- How to depict the concurrence or correlation of multiple events, without unduly biasing the user to conclude that they have a causal relationship?
- What amount of verbal interpretation to accompany visualizations? How should this interpretation be provided (computer-generated insights, written human insights, verbally conveyed human insights)?
- How to predict negative unintended consequences from the introduction of new technological capabilities for patients being provided biometric data with a direct-to-consumer approach?
- How to assess the interaction of biometric data and cognitive and physical functions of patients?
- How to assess inter-usability and safety of software and visualizations that integrate data obtained from multiple devices and sensors?
We are seeking papers of user-centered design processes and/or clinical trials where these questions have been addressed by assessing patient or clinician feedback, comprehension, changes in intentions, and/or changes in behavior. We include both special and general populations.
Guest editors:
Prof. Emily Patterson, PhD
Affiliation: The Ohio State University, Columbus, United States
(Human factors, patient safety, health informatics)
Dr. Selene Mak, PhD, MPH
Affiliation: VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, United States
(Implementation, evaluation, health services, sensors, human factors)
Assist. Prof. Garrett Ash, PhD
Affiliation: VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, United States
(Exercise, diabetes, sensors, lifestyle, analytics)
Manuscript submission information:
- Open for Submission: from 11 February 2025 to 01 July 2025
- Submission Site: Editorial Manager®
- Article Type Name: "VSI: Biometric data" - please select this item when you submit manuscripts online
All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed. Submissions will be evaluated based on originality, significance, technical quality, and clarity. Once accepted, articles will be posted online immediately and published in a journal regular issue within weeks. Articles will also be simultaneously collected in the online special issue.
For any inquiries about the appropriateness of contribution topics, welcome to contact Leading Guest Editor (Emily Patterson).
Guide for Authors will be helpful for your future contributions, read more: Guide for authors - Human Factors in Healthcare - ISSN 2772-5014 | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
For more information about our Journal, please visit our ScienceDirect Page: Human Factors in Healthcare | Journal | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
Keywords:
- Biometry;
- Wearable Electronic Devices;
- Mobile Applications;
- Consumer Health
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