Human factors are commonly referred to as a field of learning which consists of several disciplines such as psychology, industrial design, engineering, operations research, anthropology, and even statistics. Additionally the main focus of this field of learning is on the elements of engineering, empiricism, perception, and also cognition. It mostly involves the determination and identification of the different capabilities and limitations of humans including various elements of engineering such as design application, development, distribution along with the categorization of the different systems and services. These elements and information are usually incorporated into programs used in the nursing practice. The aim of human factors as a field of learning is to help in the improvement of the operational performance of the staff, along with the improvement of the quality and safety of the systems utilized in the healthcare setting (Fryer, 2011; World Health Organization, n.d.).
On the other hand, systems management is referred to as a group of elements which are used to create and support different policies focused on occupational health safety along with its objectives, targets, and mechanisms to be done to achieve the set goals. Aside from these, systems management is associated with the management of the different occupational health and safety risks. The elements included in systems management include organizational structure, planning of activities, responsibilities, practices, processes, procedures and resources needed for the development, implementation, attainment, assessment, and maintenance of the different health policies of health organizations (Proactive Health and Safety Solutions, 2009).
Driving forces are considered to be factors or elements that drive and elevate change. On the other hand, restraining forces are considered to be factors or elements that function to hold back or limit the driving forces and avoid the occurrence of change by establishing obstacles and barriers (Alavi, 2013 [a]).
Some of the driving forces for the human factors and systems management issues include awareness of the employees about the objectives and goals in the field of evidence-based practice in nursing, management support given by the senior staff and administrative staff, budget provided by the hospital regarding the accomplishment of the set goals, and the culture of the security in terms of the different issues and elements associated with nursing practice. These forces can be used to drive change by altering or changing the process of designing, implementing, and evaluating of the safety management and human factors to improve the efficiency and effectivity of these elements (Alavi, 2013 [b]).
On the contrary, the restraining forces that may act as obstacles in terms of human factors and systems management issues include stress experienced by nursing professionals and other healthcare providers, errors which are commonly present due to the imperfections of humans in performing certain processes, lack of experience and negligence of healthcare professionals, absence of communication among the different healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses, and laboratory technicians, and lastly, the absence of security policy enforcement. These forces and elements are considered to be restraining forces because these create the risks and obstacles which lead to the prevention and limitation of the occurrence of changes (Alavi, 2013[b]).
In totality, human factors and systems management is necessary in the field of evidence-based practice because these elements greatly influence the improvement in terms of efficiency and effectivity of the various goals set by the nurses and health professionals associated with the field of evidence-based practice. Additionally, there are various driving forces and restraining forces that can affect the relative flow of the occurrence or improvement of issues.
References
Alavi, R. (2013[a]. Human Factors in ISMS: Goal Driven Risk Management. The State of Security. Retrieved from http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/2-human-factors-isms-background-knowledge/ [Accessed on 11 May 2016]
Alavi, R. (2013[b]). Information Security Management Systems: Modelling Human Factors. The State of Security. Retrieved from http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/3-information-security-management-systems-modelling-human-factors/ [Accessed on 11 May 2016]
Fryer, L.A. (2011). Human factors in nursing: The time is now. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing 30(2): 56-65.
Proactive Health and Safety Solutions. (2009). Health and Safety Management System. Proactive Health and Safety Solutions. Retrieved from http://www.phssolutions.ca/health-and-safety-management-system.html [Accessed on 11 May 2016]
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Topic 2: What is human factors and why is it important to patient safety?. World Health Organization. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/patientsafety/education/curriculum/who_mc_topic-2.pdf [11 May 2016]
