Health visitors' lived experiences supporting women with perinatal mental health problems

Abstract

Health visitors play a critical role in supporting the mental wellbeing of vulnerable groups including perinatal women. This review synthesised qualitative and mixed-methods research from eight countries to provide a current understanding of how health visitors make sense of their experiences when supporting perinatal mental health problems. Electronic search engines were used to identify studies from 2011–2021. Of the 887 articles generated, a total of 19 eligible primary studies were selected for review. Clusters of themes emerged from the study findings and included health visitors' perceived role in supporting perinatal mental health problems and current practice in managing perinatal mental health. These included listening visits, cognitive behavioural therapy, referrals, and alternate inventions such as the internet-based-interventions. This review highlights the facilitators and challenges of these types of interventions along with the support and training needs of health visitors, which is of particular relevance in a post-pandemic world.