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Cited by 28Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumMaternal and Perinatal Health InterventionsMaternal and Neonatal Healthcare

The Experience of Healthcare Professionals Providing Mental Health Services to Mothers with Postpartum Depression: A qualitative study

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Jannati, Nazanin, Farokhzadian, Jamileh, Ahmadian, Leila·2021·Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal
DOI 10.18295/squmj.4.2021.031PMC PMC8631231
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Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the experience of healthcare professionals in providing mental health services to women with postpartum depression (PPD). Methods: In this qualitative study, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with five physicians, five midwives and five psychologists from 14 urban healthcare centres in Kerman, Iran, from April 2019 to September 2019. Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants. Data were qualitatively analysed using a content analysis approach. Results: Data analysis revealed the main theme of the study: ‘the long way ahead for comprehensive, integrated and responsive mental health services’. This theme included four categories: ‘postpartum depression challenges’, ‘social and personal factors’, ‘structural challenges’ and ‘need for change in mental health services’. The participants described that depression diagnosis is difficult due to insufficient knowledge among healthcare providers and the hidden signs of PPD. They also described how different factors such as economic and cultural factors, personality traits, a community's lack of knowledge, negative attitude towards depression and limited family support might cause depression. Moreover, providing mental health services involves certain challenges, such as limited human resources, insufficient financial resources and incomplete or inefficient policy-making. Conclusion: Although measures have been taken to provide mental health services, there are many challenges regarding providing mental health services to mothers. Therefore, serious measures should be taken to improve mental health services and re-define the existing measures. Informing the community, empowering the healthcare providers and attempting to change the community's attitudes and beliefs can affect the mental healthcare of women with depression.

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  • The semi-structured interview form was designed by the research team in accordance with extant literature and refined according to recommendations of two faculty members with expertise in qualitative research.

    “The form is an interview instrument designed by the research team in accordance with the extant literature [27–29] and comprises open-ended questions to elicit the experiences of mothers who have given birth in an obstetrics and gynecology hospital and are in the postpartum period with regard to postpartum depression. Once the questions had been formulated, they were refined in accordance with the”

    From Understanding mothers’ lived experiences of postpartum depression: a qualitative phenomenological study (2025) · cites this paper as [27]

    The Methods section says the study used semi-structured interviews and that topic-guided questions were formulated in a research panel with faculty members experienced in qualitative interviews. It does not say the interview form was based on extant literature or refined on the recommendations of two faculty members. Its questions were for healthcare professionals, not postpartum mothers. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Jannati, N., Farokhzadian, J., & Ahmadian, L.
Affiliations
Kerman University of Medical Sciences (IR)
Corresponding author
Ahmadian, Leila
ORCID
Venue
Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal
Publisher
Sultan Qaboos University
Published
2021-11-25
Volume
21
Issue
4
Pages
554-562
ISSN
  • 2075-051X (ISSN-L)
  • 2075-0528
DOI
10.18295/squmj.4.2021.031
PMC
PMC8631231
OpenAlex
W3156003236
Cited by
28
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 1
FWCI
2.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Sultan Qaboos University medical journal (publishedVersion, cc-by-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
Keywords
postpartum depression, maternal mental health, mental health services, health professionals' experiences, physicians, midwives, psychologists, barriers to mental health care, depression diagnosis, sociocultural factors, family support, mental health policy
MeSH terms
Delivery of Health Care, Female, Health Personnel, Humans, Mental Health Services, Mothers, Depression, Postpartum

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