Co-Design with Patients for Improving Patient Safety: Strategies, Barriers and pitfalls

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Human Factors
• Patient Safety Research
• Participatory Ergonomics

Background:

• Increasing complexity of healthcare tasks performed by patients and family members.
• Growing emphasis on patient- and family-centered care models.
• Need for effective strategies to engage patients and families in healthcare design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the continuum of patient and family engagement in healthcare co-design.
• To identify strategies for moving from tokenism to meaningful partnership in research.
• To discuss barriers and facilitators in patient-centered work system design.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of participatory ergonomics principles applied to patient and collaborative tasks.
• Panel discussion on strategies for engaging patients and families in design.
• Case examples from ambulatory medication safety to emergency department diagnosis.

Main Results:

• Identified a spectrum of engagement, from tokenism to cocreation.
• Highlighted barriers and pitfalls in patient and family engagement.
• Presented strategies for achieving effective work system designs through collaboration.

Conclusions:

• Meaningful engagement requires patience, reflection, and commitment to codesign.
• Human factors professionals can facilitate patient-professional collaborative work.
• Effective co-design is essential for enhancing patient safety and work systems.