Modelling learning for a better safety culture within an organization using a virtual safety coach: Reducing the risk of postpartum depression via improved communication with parents

This paper describes an extension of a safety culture within hospital organizations providing more transparency and acknowledgement of all actors, and in particular the parents. It contributes a model architecture to support a hospital to develop such an extended safety culture. It is illustrated for prevention of postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a commonly known consequence of childbirth for both mothers and fathers. In this research, we computationally analyze the risk factors and lack of support received by fathers. Therefore, we use shared mental models to model the effects of poor and additional communication by healthcare practitioners to mitigate the development of postpartum depression in both the mother and the father. Both individual mental models and shared mental models are considered in the design of the computational model. The paper illustrates the benefits of simple support in terms of communication during childbirth, which has lasting effects, even outside the hospital. For the impact of additional communication, a Virtual Safety Coach is designed that intervenes when necessary to provide support, i.e., when a health care practitioner doesn’t. Moreover, organizational learning is also modelled to improve the mental models of both the Safety Coach and the Health Care Practitioner.