CIS Colloquium, May 03, 2013, 11:00AM – 12:00PM, Wachman 447
Designing Informatics Tools with Human Factors in Mind
Rupananda Misra , Art Institute of Philadelphia
Abstract:
A number of Informatics tools have proliferated in the last few years in the domains such as healthcare and online education including educational games – which means, there is a greater interaction between humans (healthcare providers, patients, teachers, students, etc.) and information systems. Though Informatics Tools can improve efficiency and effective delivery of information but the improper (or lack of) use of human factor principles in the system design can lead to miscommunication and adverse events. One thing that’s most often criticized of system problems and its solutions have in common is the human element. There are plenty of examples of information systems that have poor performance because the system design did not take into consideration hum an physical and cognitive capabilities. Therefore, for example, the challenge to improve patient care and patient safety outcomes using health informatics tools is (1) to understand the human vulnerabilities that contribute to error, and (2) design and develop health informatics tools that accommodate those human factors. By centering the design of informatics tools around human-centered philosophy would likely remove adverse outcomes – that is unnecessary risks and harm to the patients and likely improve the performance of the system.
Bio:
I have held higher education teaching positions for over 16 years in the field of digital media, which includes theoretical and application courses, and practical practices courses both at the Art Institute of Philadelphia and at Drexel University. I am a professor at Art Institute of Philadelphia and an adjunct associate professor at Drexel University. I am also an adjunct professor in the IMC program at West Virginia University, where I teach courses on health informatics. Throughout my academic and professional endeavors, I have cultivated a strong background in the application and development of interactive multimedia, web technologies, health communication and education theories including user-centered design. My doctoral as well as my post-doctoral work at Columbia University have focused on exploring how user-centered design can contribute to the efficacy of health communication across health literacy levels used across media. From a broader perspective, I am interested in the communicative aspect of emerging media and how it is used in health, education, communication, etc. – that is both how the media is used in representation as well as how the user assigns meaning based on its interpretation.