What are Human Factors and Ergonomics?

This is the second of four co-written papers for the Advancing Practice series. In our first paper published in The Practising Midwife July 2023 issue, we explored patient safety in maternity and midwifery care. Here, we discuss ‘Human Factors and Ergonomics’ within healthcare, maternity and midwifery. The reflection points throughout this Advancing Practice piece are adapted from the NHS Education for Scotland’s Safety Culture Discussion Cards.1 In this paper, we hope to support midwives’ understanding of the current maternity safety landscape via a Human Factors perspective.