Remembering Ben-Tzion Karsh's scholarship, impact, and legacy

Rupa S Valdez; Richard J Holden; A Joy Rivera; Chi H Ho; Cristalle R Madray; Jiwoon Bae; Tosha B Wetterneck; John W Beasley; Pascale Carayon

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103308

Remembering Ben-Tzion Karsh's scholarship, impact, and legacy

Appl Ergon. 2021 Apr:92:103308. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103308. Epub 2020 Nov 27.

Authors

Rupa S Valdez¹, Richard J Holden², A Joy Rivera³, Chi H Ho⁴, Cristalle R Madray⁵, Jiwoon Bae⁶, Tosha B Wetterneck⁷, John W Beasley⁸, Pascale Carayon⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, VA, USA; Department of Engineering Systems and Environment, University of Virginia, VA, USA. Electronic address: rsv9d@virginia.edu.
² Department of Medicine, Indiana University, IN, USA; Indiana University Center for Aging Research, Regenstrief Institute Inc, IN, USA; Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science, Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, IN, USA.
³ Department of Patient Safety, Froedtert Hospital, WI, USA. Electronic address: a.joy.rivera@gmail.com.
⁴ Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, VA, USA. Electronic address: chh7qb@virginia.edu.
⁵ Department of Community Development and Planning, University of Maryland Medical System, MD, USA. Electronic address: crm5uf@virginia.edu.
⁶ Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, VA, USA. Electronic address: jb7un@virginia.edu.
⁷ Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin, WI, USA; Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin, WI, USA. Electronic address: tbw@medicine.wisc.edu.
⁸ Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin, WI, USA; Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin, WI, USA. Electronic address: john.beasley@wisc.edu.
⁹ Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin, WI, USA; Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement, Wisconsin Institute for Healthcare Systems Engineering, WI, USA. Electronic address: pcarayon@wisc.edu.

PMID: 33253977
DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103308

Abstract

Dr. Ben-Tzion (Bentzi) Karsh was a mentor, collaborator, colleague, and friend who profoundly impacted the fields of human factors and ergonomics (HFE), medical informatics, patient safety, and primary care, among others. In this paper we honor his contributions by reflecting on his scholarship, impact, and legacy in three ways: first, through an updated simplified bibliometric analysis in 2020, highlighting the breadth of his scholarly impact from the perspective of the number and types of communities and collaborators with which and whom he engaged; second, through targeted reflections on the history and impact of Dr. Karsh's most cited works, commenting on the particular ways they impacted our academic community; and lastly, through quotes from collaborators and mentees, illustrating Dr. Karsh's long-lasting impact on his contemporaries and students.

Keywords: Health informatics; Macroergonomics; Patient safety; Primary care; Tribute.

Publication types

Historical Article

MeSH terms

Ergonomics
Fellowships and Scholarships*
History, 20th Century
Humans
Medical Informatics*
Primary Health Care