Introduction aux facteurs humains : de l’aéronautique à l’obstétrique

Abstract

The theme of human factors is becoming more and more prominent in the healthcare field. Indeed, despite their expertise, healthcare providers display the same limits, those of any human being working in a team, in a system that requires high-reliability. Error is inherent in all human activity. Therefore, the study of human factors makes a perfect sense. The aim of our article is to provide to readers general and recent information on the concept of human factors, and to introduce other related notions such as “error”, “fault”, non-punishment of error, leadership, crew resource management, situation awareness. Indeed, in some teams, a lack of situation awareness, a poor communication, or an inadequate leadership may lead to a deteriorated clinical situation, leading to a significant and unbearable risk to our pregnant patients. We have a lot to learn from other professional systems that require high-reliability such as aeronautic, military and nuclear field for example. Thus, understanding a teamwork running and the genesis of the errors, developing some notions as illustrated by non-punishment of the error occurrence, debriefings, maintenance of regular staffs, high-fidelity simulation may allow the teams to evolve in a safer system for our pregnant patients.