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Dr. Maurita T. Harris is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at the Wilfrid Laurier University, holding appointments in User Experience Design and Social Justice & Community Engagement. She earned her B.A. from North Carolina State University in Psychology, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Community Health from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Harris’ research explores the way technology can support the well-being of people as they age from a Human Factors perspective focusing on design for aging; digital health; health and racial equity; and the technology lifecycle. As the director of the Well-Tech Research & Design Laboratory, she leads a team who collaborates with researchers across the world to ensure the integration of interdisciplinary approaches and thinking from diverse fields (e.g., community health, design, engineering, gerontology, leisure, psychology, and social justice).
My research interests focus on understanding how to design technology to be inclusive and to support adoption for people to live the life they choose. Within this, my goals are to:
- understand in more detail the technology adoption process
- explore inequities in the digital, race, and health domains
- support and improve the maintenance of functional independence of aging populations
- promote behavior change through digital health interventions
I will supervise undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning more about technology adoption (e.g., medical devices, wearables, smart home technology, and extended reality), older adults, and health.
For students interested in Master's or Doctoral supervision or me serving on their committee, please contact me directly via e-mail (mauharris@wlu.ca) outlining your current and future interests; goals, and how you would like me to support you.
For students interested in taking part in directed studies, volunteering, or completing an undergraduate thesis project, please complete this form. I will review these forms promptly and reply with any potential opportunities available.
Harris, M.T., Statler, M.A., Montague, E., Oduor, K., & Stonewall, J. (2024). Identifying and reducing barriers to having a racially and ethnically diverse research population. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics.
Trinh, M., Harris, M.T., Azevedo, R.F.L., & Rogers, W.A. (2023). Understanding older adults’ perceptions of digital health apps. Gerontechnology, 22(1), 1-7
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2023.22.1.841.10
Kokorelias, K. M., Grigorovich, A., Harris, M. T., Rehman, U., Ritchie, L., Levy, A., Denecke, K., & McMurray, J. (2023). Coadaptation between smart technologies and older adults over time: Protocol for a scoping review. JMIR Research Protocols, 12, e51129. https://doi.org/10.2196/51129
Harris, M.T., Harrington, C.N., Oduor, K., Montague, E., Roscoe, R.D., Stonewall, J., Stater, K.C. (2023). Looking at participant engagement for product design through a critical lens. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/21695067231193663
Harris, M. & Rogers, W. (2023). Developing a Healthcare Technology Acceptance Model (H-TAM) for Older Adults with Hypertension. Ageing & Society, 43(4), 814-834. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X21001069
Harris, M. T., Blocker, K. A., & Rogers, W. A. (2022). Older adults and smart technology: Facilitators and barriers to use. Frontiers in Computer Science, 4, 835927. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomp.2022.835927
Harris, M.T. & Rogers, W.A. (2021). Facilitating the adoption of digital health technologies by older adults to support their health. In H. Lum (Eds.), Human Factors Issues and the Impact of Technology on Society (pp.164-179). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-6453-0.ch007Rogers, W.A., Ramadhani, W.A., & Harris, M.T. (2020). Defining aging in place: The intersectionality of space, person, and time. Innovation in Aging, 4, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igaa036
Harris, M.T., Nie, Q., & Rogers, W. A. (2020). Guiding technology design to empower older adults to actively engage in society. In R. D. Roscoe, E. K. Chiou, & A. R. Wooldridge (Eds.), Advancing diversity, inclusion, and social justice through human systems engineering (pp. 151-169). CRC Press.
- UX103: UX Strategy
- UX115: UX Research Methods I
- UX200: Design Thinking II
- UX307: Designing for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
- UX601: UX Research Methods I
- UX602: Human Factors
Contact Info:
Office location: MDC009
Office hours: Email to schedule an appointment.
Research laboratory:
well-techlab.com