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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1493300
This article is part of the Research Topic Public Health Strategies to Improve Mental Health in the Education Sector: Perspectives and Applications View all articles

Factors influencing spousal support for women with perinatal depression in seeking formal assistance:A qualitative study

Provisionally accepted
Qinhan Zou Qinhan Zou 1,2Yingzi Yang Yingzi Yang 1Xianliang Liu Xianliang Liu 3Tingting Wang Tingting Wang 1Ruizhe Chen Ruizhe Chen 1Xia Duan Xia Duan 1,4*
  • 1 School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
  • 2 Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, Shanghai, China
  • 3 School of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China
  • 4 Nursing Department, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China

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

    Abstract Objective Seeking formal help can significantly improve the outcomes of perinatal depression (PND). However, currently, women with PND are not consistently seeking formal help. Research indicated that spouses played a crucial role in helping women recognize PND and encouraging them to seek formal help. This study aimed to explore the factors that prevent spouses from supporting women with PND in seeking formal help, based on the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) theory. Methods This is a qualitative study, utilizing semi-structured interviews to explore the factors that influence spouses to support women with PND to seek formal help. The interviews were conducted at a tertiary hospital in Shanghai, China from September 2023 to October 2023. Purposive sampling was used, and the sample size was determined by data saturation. Data analysis was conducted using Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Results Twelve spouses had a mean age of 34.92 years (SD 5.81); n=7 (58.33%) were new fathers. The influencing factors identified in this study can be explained by KAP theory, ultimately three major themes and six sub-themes emerged: (1) individual knowledge factors: lack of proper recognition of PND, (2) individual attitude factors: negative attitude toward PND screening and treatment and (3) service provider factors: imbalance between supply and demand for perinatal mental health services. Conclusions Spouses who lacked supportive behaviour were influenced by individual factors, including knowledge factors and attitude factors, as well as service provider factors. These identified factors can guide future research and the development of interventions to improve perinatal mental health services and encourage family support in seeking formal help.

    Keywords: Perinatal depression, Spouses, Formal help, Influencing factors, Qualitative

    Received: 08 Sep 2024; Accepted: 31 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zou, Yang, Liu, Wang, Chen and Duan. 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: Xia Duan, Nursing Department, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, Shanghai, 200092, Shanghai Municipality, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.