JMIR Human Factors

(Re-)designing health care and making health care interventions and technologies usable, safe, and effective.

Editor-in-Chief:

Andre Kushniruk, BA, MSc, PhD, FACMI, School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Canada


Impact Factor 2.6 CiteScore 3.4

JMIR Human Factors (JHF, ISSN 2292-9495, Journal Impact Factor™ 2.6 (Journal Citation Reports™ from Clarivate, 2023)) is a multidisciplinary journal with contributions from design experts, medical researchers, engineers, and social scientists.

JMIR Human Factors focuses on understanding how the behaviour and thinking of humans can influence and shape the design of health care interventions and technologies, and how the design can be evaluated and improved to make health care interventions and technologies usable, safe, and effective. This includes usability studies and heuristic evaluations, studies concerning ergonomics and error prevention, design studies for medical devices and healthcare systems/workflows, enhancing teamwork through Human Factors based teamwork training, measuring non-technical skills in staff like leadership, communication, situational awareness and teamwork, and healthcare policies and procedures to reduce errors and increase safety.

JMIR Human Factors focuses aspires to lead health care towards a culture of "usability by design", as well as to a culture of testing, error-prevention and safety, by promoting and publishing reports rigorously evaluating the usability and human factors aspects in health care, as well as encouraging the development and debate on new methods in this emerging field. Possible contributions include usability studies and heuristic evaluations, studies concerning ergonomics and error prevention, design studies for medical devices and healthcare systems/workflows, enhancing teamwork through human factors-based teamwork training, measuring non-technical skills in staff like leadership, communication, situational awareness and teamwork, and healthcare policies and procedures to reduce errors and increase safety. Reviews, viewpoint papers and tutorials are as welcome as original research.

All articles are professionally copyedited and typeset.

JMIR Human Factors is indexed in National Library of Medicine (NLM)/MEDLINE, PubMed, PubMed Central, DOAJ, Scopus, Sherpa Romeo, PsychINFO, and the Web of Science (WoS)/ESCI/SCIE.

Recent Articles

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Design and Usability of Consumer Health Tech and Home Monitoring Devices

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a leading cause of mortality in the developed world. Timely detection of cardiac arrest and prompt activation of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are essential, yet challenging. Automated cardiac arrest detection using sensor signals from smartwatches has the potential to shorten the interval between cardiac arrest and activation of EMS, thereby increasing the likelihood of survival.

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Design and Usability of Consumer Health Tech and Home Monitoring Devices

AI chatbots have the potential to assist individuals with chronic health conditions by providing tailored information, monitoring symptoms, and offering mental health support. Despite their potential benefits, research on public attitudes towards healthcare chatbots is still limited. To effectively support individuals with long-term health conditions like Long COVID, it is crucial to understand their perspectives and preferences regarding the use of AI chatbots.

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Focus Groups and Qualitative Research for Human Factors Research

Digital adherence technologies (DATs) are being studied to determine their potential to support tuberculosis (TB) treatment and address the shortcomings of directly observed therapy. Previous research has shown inconclusive results on whether DATs can enhance medication adherence among persons with TB.

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Focus Groups and Qualitative Research for Human Factors Research

Technology has significantly reshaped the landscape and accessibility of gambling, creating uncharted territory for researchers and policy makers involved in the responsible gambling (RG) agenda. Digital payment solutions (DPS) are the latest addition of technology-based services in gambling and are now prominently used for deposit and win withdrawal. The seamless collaboration between online gambling operators and DPS, however, has raised concerns regarding the potential role of DPS platforms in facilitating harmful behavior.

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Design and Usability of Consumer Health Tech and Home Monitoring Devices

Health outcomes are significantly influenced by unmet social needs. Although screening for social needs has become common in health care settings, there is often poor linkage to resources after needs are identified. The structural barriers (eg, staffing, time, and space) to helping address social needs could be overcome by a technology-based solution.

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Theme Issue (2023): AI and Human Factors—Towards Successful Application of AI in Health Care

Self-management is endorsed in clinical practice guidelines for the care of musculoskeletal pain. In a randomized clinical trial, we tested the effectiveness of an artificial intelligence–based self-management app (selfBACK) as an adjunct to usual care for patients with low back and neck pain referred to specialist care.

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Theme Issue (2023): AI and Human Factors—Towards Successful Application of AI in Health Care

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to enhance physical activity (PA) interventions. However, human factors (HFs) play a pivotal role in the successful integration of AI into mobile health (mHealth) solutions for promoting PA. Understanding and optimizing the interaction between individuals and AI-driven mHealth apps is essential for achieving the desired outcomes.

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User-centred Design Case Studies

The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) is an NIH funded program to diversify the STEMM research workforce through providing mentoring, networking, and professional development resources. NRMN provides mentoring resources to members through its online platform, MyNRMN.

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Design and Usability of Medical Devices

In pandemic situations, digital contact tracing (DCT) can be an effective way to assess one’s risk of infection and inform others in case of infection. DCT apps can support the information gathering and analysis processes of users aiming to trace contacts. However, users’ use intention and use of DCT information may depend on the perceived benefits of contact tracing. While existing research has examined acceptance in DCT, automation-related user experience factors have been overlooked.

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Tools and Questionnaires in Human Factors Evaluation

Physicians and patient-facing caregivers have increasingly used mobile health (mHealth) technologies in the past several years, accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, barriers and feedback surrounding adoption remain relatively understudied and varied across health systems, particularly in rural areas.

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User-centred Design Case Studies

Digitally assisted health care services and technologies are gaining popularity. They assist patients in managing their conditions, thereby reducing the burden on health care staff. Digital health care enables individuals to receive care that is more tailored to their needs and preferences. When implemented properly, it can promote equity by considering each person’s opportunities and limitations in the context of health care needs, preferences, values, and capabilities.

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Preprints Open for Peer-Review

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