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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 focuses on how people experience and use emerging technologies (e.g., XR, AI, wearables, and smart home tech) in health, work, and everyday life. I am especially interested in how technologies are designed, adopted, adapted, and integrated into existing social and organizational systems, and in the ways these processes can either support or undermine equity and inclusion. Much of my work examines aging, disability, and technology through a human factors lens. Across these areas, I am interested in understanding what people need from technology, how context shapes technology use, and how research can contribute to more responsible and inclusive design and implementation. I have some emerging and ongoing projects highlighted below. For more information, please go to www.well-techlab.com
- Menopause, Technology, and Healthcare
My emerging work in this area examines how people experiencing the menopausal transition navigate healthcare and digital technologies. This research considers how technologies can support health management and care while also asking whose experiences are reflected in the design of these tools and whose may be overlooked. - AgeSmart-AI: AI-Enabled Shadow Technologies Catalyzing Age-Inclusive Healthcare Workspaces
SSHRC Insight Grant, 2025-2028
AgeSmart-AI examines how healthcare professionals are using AI-enabled technologies in their work, including tools that may fall outside formal organizational systems. The project explores how these technologies affect work practices and how issues such as age, workplace support, trust, and organizational governance shape their use. The broader goal is to inform more responsible and age-inclusive approaches to AI in healthcare workplaces. - SOARWell-AiP: Sociotechnical Observation and Assessment Research into Wellbeing and Aging in Place
SSHRC Insight Grant, 2024–2028
As a Co-Applicant on SOARWell-AiP, I contribute expertise in human factors, technology adoption, and inclusive design to research examining how sociotechnical environments shape well-being and aging in place. My contributions focus on understanding how older adults experience and use technologies within the broader context of their everyday lives and how the design and implementation of these technologies can better support aging, autonomy, and well-being. For more information, please go to https://www.dynamicaging.ca/our-research/project-one-f5w4d-z9nem-s3jda-eyssk-73f62-tmxz9-2cfet
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.
+Students I directly supervised
++Individuals I supervised for the paper, but are directly supervised by other faculty
*Community members or peer researchers
- *Cyrus, E., Harris, M. Kalu, M., & Kokorelias, K.M. (2026, January). Counting Sugar, Preserving Stories. International Health Trends and Perspectives.
- Kokorelias, K.M., ++Onyekere, C., *Cyrus, E., Singh, H., Munce, S.E.P., Wijekoon, S., Eaton, A.E., Kalu, M., & Harris, M.T. (2026). Managing more than diabetes: The self-management experiences of Black older adults living in suburbs with pre-diabetes or diabetes. Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 50(5), 329-336.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjd.2026.04.003
- +Giancola, S., +Estreicher, R., +Joseph, A., Bar, R.J., & Harris, M.T. (2026). Sharing dance with older adults in Canada: An exploratory case study. Journal of Ageing and Longevity. 6(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/jal6010027
- Barton, H.J., Harris, M.T., Rogers, C.C., Lange-Morales, K., Thatcher, A., Newman, L., Wooldridge, A.R., Rogers, W.A., Montague, E., Werner, N.E., & Valdez, R. (2025). Leveraging Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) for community impact: What have we learned about how to make a difference?. Ergonomics, 68(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2025.2450726
- Harris, M. T., & Rogers, W. A. (2025). A case study approach to understand Black adults’ engagement with a smartwatch. Human Factors in Healthcare, 100114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2025.100114
- +Goonasekera, M., Kokorelias, K.M., ++Dove, E., & Harris, M.T., (2025). Family and patient-centered care and culture change movement in long-term care. In K. K. Bhattacharyya (Ed.), Health Promotion in Long-Term Care (pp. 165-180). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-91038-8_13
- Harris, M., Kiggundu, S., & Goonasekera, M. (2024). Addressing aging in place policy challenges in Canada: A call to action. Healthcare Papers, 22(2), 38–44. https://doi.org/10.12927/hcpap.2024.27398
- Kokorelias, K.M., Grigorovich, A., Harris, M.T., Rehman, U., Ritchie, L., Levy, A., Denecke, K., & McMurray, J. (2024). Longitudinal coadaptation of older adults with wearables and voice-activated virtual assistants: Scoping review. J Med Internet Res. http://dx.doi.org/2196/57258
- 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. 99, 103527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2023.103527
- 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
- Rogers, 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
- UX307: Designing for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
- UX601: UX Research Methods I
- UX602: Human Factors
- SOJE602: Applied Research for Social Justice
Contact Info:
Office location: MDC009
Office hours: Email to schedule an appointment.
Research laboratory:
well-techlab.com