[The origin and development of the application of ergonomics in patient safety]

Human factor and ergonomics (HFE) is a discipline focusing on the studies of the relation between the safety and human behavior and system design. The application of HFE in healthcare and patient safety can be traced back to the 1950s. To date, the method and theory of HFE, including its principles and methodology, has played an important part in patient safety activities, and has gained more and more attention by the relevant health and hygienic institutions in developed countries, while its application in developing countries like China is still at the very initial stage with only a few research articles published, most of them theoretical rather than practical.