Human Factors Newsletter July 2026
Optimising Organisational Performance and Human Wellbeing
Hello everyone and welcome to the July e-Newsletter from Scotland’s Human Factors Learning Network for Health & Social Care.
To join our Network please email: HumanFactors@nes.scot.nhs.uk
Please visit our evolving Online Hub to find out more about Human Factors and access useful Public Service Delivery Scotland (PSDS) resources for supporting integration across education, research, evaluation and practice.
Finally, please feel free to help promote our work by encouraging colleagues in your own organisations and professional networks to get in touch to sign-up.
Quick Updates
Date for the Diary! Our next 1-day National HF Networking and Learning Symposium meeting is scheduled for Friday 18th September 2026 (a draft programme with details of speakers, presentations and workshops to follow as soon as possible).
Please note that this will be held at the Public Services Delivery Scotland, 177 Bothwell Street, GLASGOW, Scotland, UK, G2 7ER
If you would like to register your interest in this event, please complete the following MS Forms link Human Factors Network Meeting 18th September 2026 – Fill in form
Teaching Human Factors – The Brilliant Basics
Phase 1 of the Brilliant Basics Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) Teaching Packs is on schedule to be hosted on our Human Factors Hub in TURAS Learn.
The first six titles in the series were released for international review in October 2025, with the review cycle remaining open until the end of February 2026. With close consideration to the extensive feedback, the teaching packs are being refined and edited so that they will can be available for use in September 2026.
The target audience for these packs includes educators across all levels of health and social care practice and academia, who have a foundational background in HFE.
There will be an option for keen facilitators who do not have a Foundational Background to complete a short module within TURAS to unlock access to the teaching packs.
Our aim is to strengthen the accuracy and consistency of HFE teaching by grounding it firmly in the discipline’s foundational theories and practices, while helping to correct the myths and misunderstandings that continue to circulate in the UK and international healthcare.
The six titles in phase one release of these teaching packs include:
- Pack One: Foundational Human Factors and Ergonomics
- Pack Two: The Systems Approach
- Pack Three: Designing for People
- Pack Four: Exploring Human Work
- Pack Five: Designing Effective Work Procedures
- Pack Six: Building a Culture of Safety
Each pack consist of a slide deck, which includes facilitators notes. The packs are flexible and can be adapted to suit local contexts, and educators are strongly encouraged to integrate them into existing training programmes, educational initiatives, and ad hoc teaching sessions — particularly those relating to patient safety, simulation education and practice, service design, procurement, clinical digital safety, usability and safety of products and services, workforce wellbeing initiatives, human-centred design of the built environment, research in complex systems and quality improvement.
Future teaching packs will explore additional HFE topics, helping to build a comprehensive, accessible curriculum for the health and social care workforce.
Human Factors for Safety Learning Reviews
A new Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) for Safety Learning Review (SLR) learning series will be available on TURAS Learn from October 2026, building on the success of our earlier pilot. Designed to support health and care professionals in applying HFE approaches to a range of learning reviews, including Significant Adverse Event Reviews (SAERs), the programme offers a flexible, self-paced learning experience that fits around busy roles. It’s structured into around 6 short workbooks (approximately 60 minutes each), making it easy for learners to engage with the content in manageable chunks while progressively building their knowledge and confidence.
Reflective learning is a central feature of the series. Throughout the workbooks, you will be encouraged to pause and consider your current understanding, experiences and approaches to Safety Learning Reviews. Reflection prompts and self-assessment activities are included to help you explore how your knowledge, awareness and confidence may develop as you progress through the materials, and how the learning may be applied within your own practice.
On completion of the series, learners will be invited to complete a short evaluation questionnaire. Feedback will help PSD Scotland understand the reach, value and impact of the learning resources and inform future development. Learners may also wish to retain their workbook reflections as evidence of continuing professional development (CPD)
New Safety Learning Review Pages on the Human Factors Hub
Discover the new Safety Learning Review (SLR) pages on the Human Factors Hub in TURAS Learn—your central resource for supporting high-quality, systems-focused reviews. The pages bring together a rich range of content, including podcasts, webinars, curated signposting to key resources, and practical tools to support application in practice. They also provide guidance on feedback and assurance, helping teams and organisations strengthen learning and improvement from safety reviews. The SLR pages offer an accessible and engaging space to build capability, share insights, and promote consistency across services.
Published Research & Innovation
Recent journal articles by NES colleagues and partners:
Workarounds in Digital Health
Carrigan A, Baysari MT, McCormack B, Bowie P, Calderwood C, Egan K, Wiig, S. Workarounds in digital health: Current perspectives through human factors, person-centred practice and patient safety lens. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics. 2026 May 21; 2404-2408. doi:10.3233/SHTI260701
https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/96388/1/Carrigan-etal-2026-SHTI-Workarounds-and-digital-health.pdf
Armstrong D, Graham J, Rousselet L, Bowie P. Perceived eye care risk and safety issues identified by optometrists in Scotland: a focus group study. BMJ Open Quality. 2026;15:e004182. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2026-004182
https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/15/2/e004182
The Safety and Quality Debate
Woodier N, Back J, Owens D, Vosper H and Bowie P. Quality versus safety in healthcare – a national debate for patient care. Conference Paper: Contemporary Ergonomics & Human Factors 2026
