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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1424075
This article is part of the Research Topic Early Maternal and Child Health Management and the Impact of Living Environment View all 5 articles

Knowledge, attitudes, and support needs of obstetric and gynecological nurses and midwives toward perinatal mental health disorders screening in central China: a multicenter cross-sectional survey

Provisionally accepted
Luyang Zhu Luyang Zhu 1Xinlong Pan Xinlong Pan 1Chunli Chen Chunli Chen 2Jianfei Chen Jianfei Chen 1Yuanrui Pan Yuanrui Pan 1Xiaoli Chen Xiaoli Chen 1*Zhijie Zou Zhijie Zou 1*Chengqiu Li Chengqiu Li 3*
  • 1 School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
  • 2 Department of Obstetrics, Renmin Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
  • 3 Department of Obstetrics and gynecology, Renmin Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: The perinatal period is a time of increased vulnerability regarding maternal mental health status. Although guidelines and policies have been published for perinatal mental health disorders (PMHDs) screening in China, the knowledge, attitudes, and support needs of nurses and midwives toward implementing mental health screening programs during pregnancy remain unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the knowledge of PMHDs, attitudes and support needs related to implementing mental health screening during pregnancy among obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) nurses and midwives in the central region of China while identifying the related influencing factors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 14 cities in Hubei, China, using convenience sampling from July to October 2023. The Chinese version of the Perinatal Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Perinatal Mental Health Attitudes Scale, and the Health Care Facilities Support Needs Scale were used to investigate the PMHDs knowledge, attitudes, and support needs of OB/GYN nurses and midwives, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27.0. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed, with a p-value of < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The average scores for knowledge, attitudes, and support needs were 6.09 ± 1.99 (total score: 13), 47.67 ± 8.80 (total score: 80), and 29.35±4.66 (total score: 35), respectively. After adjusting for years of nursing experience and years of obstetrics and gynecology nursing experience, the multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that having mental health-related education or work experience (adjusted OR (aOR)=1.43, p=0.01), being midwives (aOR=1.78, p<0.001), and working in specialist maternity hospitals (aOR=1.55, p<0.001) were significantly associated with higher knowledge scores; having mental health related education or work experience (aOR=1.59, p=0.014) and working in specialist maternity hospitals (aOR=1.42, p<0.01) were significantly associated with higher support needs scores. Conclusions: OB/GYN nurses and midwives demonstrated insufficient knowledge and moderate attitudes toward PMHDs screening, and have great support need for PMHDs screening. To address these issues, medical organizations and relevant government sectors should enhance training for nurses and midwives on PMHDs and provide professional support to promote routine maternal mental health screening programs and improve perinatal mental health outcomes.

    Keywords: Pregnant Women, perinatal mental health disorders, knowledge, attitudes, Support needs, Medical Staff

    Received: 27 Apr 2024; Accepted: 20 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhu, Pan, Chen, Chen, Pan, Chen, Zou and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xiaoli Chen, School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
    Zhijie Zou, School of Nursing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
    Chengqiu Li, Department of Obstetrics and gynecology, Renmin Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

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