Workshops

All workshops take place on Sunday, March 30, 2025 and are available at an additional fee.

Full Day Workshops (two)

8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Introduction to Human Factors for Medical Products - Student Workshop

Complimentary to Student Registrants of the Symposium - All Others Pay Prevailing Workshop Rates

  • Denise Forkey, Director of Human Factors Strategy-Advisory, ClariMed, Inc.

This workshop is complimentary to STUDENT registrants.  Prevailing rates apply to all others.  This workshop will introduce students to the world of healthcare human factors and promote their entry into this exciting and growing field. The workshop will cover the following topics with the goal of enabling students to enter the healthcare HF industry.​ 

  • Current opportunities for Human Factors
  • Overview of FDA guidance and standards applicable to healthcare HF
  • Typical phases of an HF program
  • Application to drug delivery devices (combination drug products)
  • Application to medical devices
  • Risk-based approaches to HF
  • Design of devices, instructions and labeling
  • Case Studies of how the HF process was applied for a medical product
  • Latest trends and future opportunities
  • How to prepare for a career in healthcare HF
  • Q & A

A Crash Course on Cognitive Ergonomics in Healthcare

  • Russ Branaghan, PhD, Arizona State University
  • Emily A. Hildebrand, PhD, Research Collective
  • Logan Markwell, PhD, Research Collective

Despite researching, testing, and designing cognitive tools for use by healthcare providers, patients and caregivers, many Healthcare Human Factors practitioners have never taken a university-level class in cognitive psychology or cognitive science. Moreover, while much of the material in those traditional classes is useful to Human Factors (HF) practitioners, some of it is not. This workshop provides a crash course on how the mind works, separating the HF wheat from the chaff. It addresses human cognitive capabilities and limitations, as well as their implications for design. Rather than attempting to provide exhaustive treatment, it focuses specifically on cognitive characteristics that impact design the most, as well as some methods and applications that are highly relevant to healthcare researchers.

Half-Day Workshops (Six: three concurrent morning & afternoon workshops)

8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Empowering Innovation: Advocating for Generative Research in Medical Device Design

  • Lisa Gunther-Lavergne, PHD, Farm Design Inc.
  • M. Katrina Smith, PhD, Farm Design Inc.

As human factors consultants, we routinely find that our clients want to gather user input early in the design process, but often communicate that there isn’t enough time or money to do so. However, with the right “toolkit” of research methodologies, and a solid understanding of which method to employ based on study objectives, timeline and budget, these studies can be cost-effective and are more likely to result in the development of the right product for the end user. In this workshop attendees will have the opportunity to develop a foundational understanding of the benefits and challenges of generative research, refine their working knowledge of specific types of studies, enhance their existing toolkit of methodological options, and practice their skills at communicating the need for (and benefits of) generative research to stakeholders.

Designing for Implementation: Implementation Science for Human Factors in Healthcare

  • Edmond Ramly, Indiana University
  • Reid Parks, Indiana University, University of Wisconsin – Madison
  • Rich Holden, Indiana University

This workshop introduces the fundamentals of implementation science and how to apply them for human factors in healthcare, to augment the human-centered design of sustainable sociotechnical system interventions in healthcare. This highly successful workshop that we offered at HFES/ASPIRE 2024 is returning by popular demand, building on positive participant-reported results. In pre-post participant surveys, self-assessed ability to design for implementation across 8 competencies increased from 33% (20% to 70% range) to 95% (82% to 100% range). Attendees at the 2024 workshop reflected: “Great workshop! Made me think a lot!” “It left me with a wide toolset” “Set a high bar for the rest of the conference!”

Using human factors case studies across a variety of healthcare settings, we will introduce the three most established implementation science frameworks, and how they fit with human factors research and practice in healthcare. Throughout the workshop, participants can work on an intervention from their past work, upcoming work, or from the case studies we will provide.

Leveraging Behavioral Science and Artificial Intelligence to Design Better Healthcare Products and Systems

  • Paula Voorheis, Postdoctoral Researcher, VeroSource Solutions Inc.
  • Natasa Lazarevic, Senior Human Factors Specialist, Sinai Health System
  • Bisma Imtiaz, Medical Doctor and PhD Candidate, Sinai Health System

This workshop will introduce participants to the latest research in behavioral science and its practical application to human factors in healthcare. A novel framework will be presented, demonstrating how behavioral insights can be integrated across key stages of healthcare innovation design. Specifically, participants will receive guidance on how to use behavioral science to enhance: user research, problem definitions, requirements listing, solution ideation, rapid prototyping, and user testing.

Following the presentation of the novel framework, participants will engage in an interactive session where they will apply these behaviorally-informed design principles to a healthcare case study. This hands-on experience will allow participants to practice solving real-world problems using behavioral science methods. Throughout the workshop, participants will also explore how AI can complement the behaviorally-informed innovation design process. The session will be highly interactive, with group discussions and practical exercises to reinforce the application of these concepts. By the end of the workshop, participants will have learned to combine behavioral science and AI to create more effective, user-centered healthcare innovations.

Half Day Workshops – Afternoon

1:30 PM – 4:30 PM

How to Design and Implement Technologies and Processes in Complex Systems: Macroergonomics Methods

  • Hanna J. Barton, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • A. Joy Rivera, PhD, Froedtert Health & Medical College Wisconsin
  • Amy Graske, MS, Froedtert Health
  • Edmond Ramly, PhD, Department of Health & Wellness Design, Indiana University School of Public Health

Designing and implementing technologies and processes in healthcare is complex. Failing to effectively account for the context in which a technology or process is being implemented often leads to unsustainable interventions and unintended consequences. Macroergonomic methods are powerful systems-based approaches for analyzing the complexities of healthcare problems and then designing simple solutions to effectively address those problems. This workshop—through a combination of case study examples and hands-on application—will provide practical ways of grappling with messy problems in complex systems to the end of designing workable solutions. 

Designing in Hospital Settings: Soaring into the Solution Stratosphere

  • Ashley Spiegel, Nurse, Senior Design Strategist, Healthcare Human Factors, Toronto General Hospital
  • Melissa Frew, Associate Director of Design, Healthcare Human Factors, Toronto General Hospital

In today’s complex healthcare landscape it can sometimes feel that we are only highlighting problems, or reactively trying to fix things to change the patient or clinician experience. What if we told you there was a way to change the way we approach challenges in healthcare to be more proactive, solution oriented and engaging for end users and patients. This requires us to augment traditional methodologies and bring a holistic approach to understand critical challenges, innovate new solutions and services, and implement change. This workshop will introduce participants to a powerful approach that integrates an empathetic, human centered and curious mindset in order to understand human behaviour and actions to create solutions that address both operational efficiency and lived experiences of patients, families, and healthcare professionals. Through interactive activities and real-world case studies, participants will gain practical, hands-on experience to inspire them to do things differently at their organization!

Designing and Evaluating Hand-Held Medical Devices

  • Michael E. Wiklund, CHFP, PE, Emergo by UL
  • Bryce G. Rutter, Ph.D., Metaphase

In this workshop, the highly experienced presenters share their broad-spectrum knowledge about designing hand-held medical devices, such as surgical instrument, surgical robot hand pieces, and combination products (e.g., nebulizers, inhalers, pen-injectors). They will cover many topics including pertinent ergonomics, characteristics of a safe, effective, and comfortable grip, and the nature of effective tactile feedback. They will advocate designing to accommodate diverse users who have widely varying hand size, strength, and dexterity. Workshop attendees will review and comment on the design of common medical devices, identifying opportunities to improve their user interfaces. At several points, practicing clinicians will talk (in-person and/or via Zoom) about their experience with hand-held medical devices, including what makes them better versus worse.

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