Dementia caregiving is one of the most challenging and underappreciated roles in healthcare. Caregivers, often family members, experience significant emotional and physical strain while providing unpaid work. But have you ever considered how culture influences the experiences and challenges of these caregivers? At the Physical, Information, and Cognitive Human Factors Engineering (PIC-HFE) Research Laboratory at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), we are using human factors engineering to explore how cultural and system factors shape the caregiving experience for individuals with dementia. This is more than just a study—it’s a call to action to improve the lives of caregivers and the people they support. Our research, led by graduate student Laura Tovar, was selected as an invited article for the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) and published in February 2025. This recognition underscores the significance of our work in applying work systems models through a human factors lens to improve caregiving outcomes. Our research reveals that:
✅ Caregiving is a complex, unpaid form of work
✅ Emotional and physical burdens increase as dementia progresses
✅ Many caregivers face a lack of resources and formal support systems
✅ The role of culture is critical in shaping caregiving strategies and stress levels
By understanding these dynamics, we aim to develop innovative solutions that reduce caregiver burden, optimize support structures, and enhance the well-being of both caregivers and patients. Caregivers often work in isolation, facing mental, physical, and emotional strain. This research is not just about identifying problems—it’s about engineering better solutions. If you’re passionate about healthcare innovation, human-centered design, or work system optimization, and want to contribute to groundbreaking work that makes a real impact and if you are an undergraduate or a graduate student interested in research, join us and
🌟 Work on cutting-edge interdisciplinary research
🌟 Apply human-centered design principles to real-world problems
🌟 Collaborate with experts in engineering, psychology, and healthcare
🌟 Make a tangible difference in the lives of caregivers and patients

👉 Want to be part of this exciting research? Contact the PIC-HFE Research Laboratory at UTEP today to learn more. Contact Dr. Arunkumar Pennathur at apennathur@utep.edu or Dr. Priya Pennathur at prpennathur2@utep.edu and visit our webpage at https://pic-hfe.research.st/

Together, we can design better support systems and revolutionize the way we think about caregiving and human factors engineering!