Research interest

My interest lie in how the design and implementation of technology impact work processes and use. I am intrigued by healthcare informatics, focusing on how the design and implementation of health information technology (HIT) impacts work processes of clinicians and the use by patients.

HIT and clinician workflow

Much of my work has focused on understanding the impact of technology and tools on workers, their tasks and the new work processes that develop as a result of a change or introduction of technology in their work.

Personal health information management (PHIM) and mobile technologies

Broad acceptance of Web 2.0 technologies in medicine will continue to provide an avenue for the education and communication of patients and clinicians (Eysenbach, 2008). The success seen in the general public is not however, replicated in low-income communities. Harnessing the power of “smart” technology can be a bridge that crosses the “digital divide”, in particular with personal health information management to support general patient well-being.

Human Computer Interaction

Research in this area covers a wide variety of workplaces that use information technology to manage work among groups of people separated by time and space. A systems engineering approach could be used to understand the impact of information systems on work places like children and family services (i.e. keeping track of foster care children, visits by social workers, progress of care), or emergency response teams (managing the event, locating team members, establishing organizational structure without full team).