The Experience of Perinatal Depression and Implications for Treatment Adaptation: A Qualitative Study in a Semi-rural District in Vietnam

Abstract

This study sought to provide an understanding of how perinatal depression is experienced, and how interventions targeting it should be adapted to suit the local context. The study was conducted in a semi-rural district in Vietnam. It comprised of individual interviews with nine women who obtained high scores in a depression self-report measure during pregnancy, two focus group discussions (FGDs) with health workers from the local community health stations, and two FGDs with elderly women from the local community. Interviews addressed the experience of depression during pregnancy and FGDs addressed the perceptions of depression and the suitability and provision of a mindfulness intervention. Interventions targeting perinatal depression should take into account the particular social aspects that may be intimately linked to its causation and course. The causation of depression was deemed to be predominantly social, including problems between family members and son preference. The mindfulness intervention was thought suitable for the local context. Delivery through well-supported community meetings was recommended. A locally adapted intervention is thus deemed suitable for the local context, and could be provided as a component of a stepped-care model for depression treatment. The results of this study may not be generalizable beyond the group studied, or the context of Ba Vi, Vietnam.