Presentation
Applying Human Factors to Build Systems That are Resilient to the Effects of Catastrophes and Climatic Events on Canadian Hospital Environments
SessionBuilt Environments (HE7)
DescriptionGlobal natural disasters cost over $380 billion in 2023 with insured losses exceeding over $100 billion. The extent to which healthcare organizations can learn from catastrophic climate events that affect the delivery of healthcare services may help healthcare organizations to bolster emergency preparedness procedures and mitigate future risks. There is an opportunity for the application of human factors principles and techniques to develop a pan-Canadian systems-level strategy for promoting resilience within Canadian healthcare environments.
In this presentation, we begin by showing the impact of climate-related events on healthcare environments in terms of property insurance costs in the Canadian context. This unique data set provides a nationwide (Canadian) perspective on risks faced in a diverse set of geographic, rural and urban settings. After sharing the data on property insurance costs, we then share key insights from both human factors and risk management perspectives on a recent case. This case involves the impact of wildfires on the health systems in the Northwest Territories of Canada. In particular, we discuss how human factors methods including contextual inquiry, shadowing and observations can help to develop a systems-level perspective around the issue of duty to care during emergencies i.e., the professional responsibility of individuals and organizations to provide reasonable care.
We reflect on the importance of proactive risk management, including embedding human factors approaches to system design. We also discuss mitigation strategies within the context of allowing healthcare facilities to protect critical infrastructure, and to continue to deliver high quality care during unforeseen events.
In this presentation, we begin by showing the impact of climate-related events on healthcare environments in terms of property insurance costs in the Canadian context. This unique data set provides a nationwide (Canadian) perspective on risks faced in a diverse set of geographic, rural and urban settings. After sharing the data on property insurance costs, we then share key insights from both human factors and risk management perspectives on a recent case. This case involves the impact of wildfires on the health systems in the Northwest Territories of Canada. In particular, we discuss how human factors methods including contextual inquiry, shadowing and observations can help to develop a systems-level perspective around the issue of duty to care during emergencies i.e., the professional responsibility of individuals and organizations to provide reasonable care.
We reflect on the importance of proactive risk management, including embedding human factors approaches to system design. We also discuss mitigation strategies within the context of allowing healthcare facilities to protect critical infrastructure, and to continue to deliver high quality care during unforeseen events.
Authors
Event Type
Oral Presentations
TimeTuesday, April 13:30pm - 3:50pm EDT
LocationHarbour C
Hospital Environments (HE)