Dr. Karol Silva is a human factors consultant with interdisciplinary training in child and adolescent development and public health. She holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Temple University and master in public health from Brown University and is a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI). A significant portion of Dr. Silva’s work addresses child and adolescent safety, with particular attention to risk behaviors, cognitive and motor development, contextual factors, and the role of caregiver supervision. She also evaluates how factors such as risk perception and hazard awareness contribute to accident patterns across age groups, and how caregiver practices shape health and injury outcomes.

She has conducted usability studies evaluating how children and adults interact with products in a range of environments. Her work considers human capabilities and limitations and the implications on product design, labeling, and safety communication. Dr. Silva has extensive experience analyzing the appropriateness of product features, messaging, and instructions for intended age groups.

She has deep knowledge of consumer product regulations and standards, including the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, Poison Prevention Packaging Act, and Reese’s Law. She routinely advises on product classification and age grading based on the CPSC’s Age Determination Guidelines and evaluates the relative effectiveness of child-resistant design features. Dr. Silva also leverages large-scale injury surveillance data, including the CPSC’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, to perform injury pattern analysis and support risk assessments.

In addition to her specialization in child safety, Dr. Silva has broad experience investigating human factors and human performance in a wide range of contexts, including pedestrian behavior, trip and falls, warnings and labeling, and driver behavior. She brings an interdisciplinary perspective to human factors analysis, applying behavioral science, public health, and regulatory knowledge to analyze user behavior, product interaction, and risk communication.