Perceptions of health service providers on postpartum depression

Abstract

Introduction: Mental health is a problem that can occur to everyone, especially to postpartum mothers, because of the process of physical and psychological changes, namely as parents. This exploratory study aims to identify strategies for successfully implementing postpartum depression screening in health services that provide midwifery care during the postpartum period. Method: This qualitative study included four focus group discussions and two in-depth individual interviews with participants using a semi-structured interview guide. Topics examined included acceptance of, and readiness for, screening programs for postpartum depression. Participants included perinatal women and their families, policymakers, and health service providers. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed for emerging themes. Result: The results of the analysis show that postpartum psychological screening needs to be carried out by health workers on postpartum mothers. The process of implementing the screening can be done when the postpartum mother visits a health worker. Screening can be done at the beginning of the puerperium as early detection of postpartum blues and postpartum depression. The potential challenge that must be done to implement this postpartum screening is the preparation/introduction of detection tools to health workers, including a referral system and treatment if a postpartum mother is found with problems. In addition, there is a need for synergy between stakeholders, health workers and health service facilities to implement postpartum psychological screening. Conclusion: Conclusions from our analysis suggest several factors to support the successful implementation of the postpartum depression screening program, guidelines for screening implementation for successful implementation, and an evidence-based approach to encourage the implementation of postpartum psychological screening.