Date of Award
2026-08-01
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Interdisciplinary Health Sciences
Advisor(s)
Priyadarshini Pennathur
Abstract
Background: More than half of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States occur between 7 and 365 days after delivery, and most are preventable. Yet postpartum care remains organized around a single follow-up visit that 40-50% of women miss a structure misaligned with the continuous physical, emotional, and informational needs of recovery. Objective: To examine postpartum care as a work system through a human factors engineering lens: how system-level factors are represented in the literature, how women experience and navigate the care system, and how patients and providers experience communication. Methods: A three-paper model was used: a systematized review of 100 articles (2014-2026) coded with the SEIPS framework; a user experience study of interviews with 19 postpartum women, using hybrid computational-manual clustering to develop personas and journey maps; and a qualitative descriptive study using thematic analysis of interviews with 10 postpartum patients and 4 providers. Findings: The literature emphasizes patient-level and social-environment factors while organizational conditions, tools and technologies, and physical environments remain understudied. Three personas emerged with universal challenges but distinct pathways, showing that one-size-fits-all care cannot meet postpartum needs. Communication analysis revealed that trust and satisfaction are distinct dimensions, trust does not ensure concerns are voiced, emotional health receives limited attention despite screening, and organizational constraints shape communication for patients and providers alike. Conclusion: Postpartum struggles reflect system failures rather than individual shortcomings. Improving care requires redesigning the care model: extending support across the full postpartum year, tailoring care to differing needs, and treating communication as a property of the care system.
Language
en
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
Copyright Date
2026-08
File Size
168 p.
File Format
application/pdf
Rights Holder
Prajina Edayath
Recommended Citation
Edayath, Prajina, "Bridging The Gap In Postpartum Care: A Multi-Faceted Study On System Factors, Lived Experiences, And Patient-Provider Communication Through A Human Factors Engineering Lens" (2026). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 4665.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/4665