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The effect of a telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy on quality of life: a randomized controlled trial

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Abstract

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has emerged as a major public health concern in perinatal care. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy (T-CBT) on HRQoL among Chinese mothers at risk of postnatal depression at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. A multi-center randomized controlled trial was conducted at the postnatal units of three regional hospitals. Three hundred and ninety-seven women at risk of postnatal depression were recruited and were randomly assigned to the T-CBT (n = 197) or usual care (n = 200). Assessment was conducted at baseline, 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum for HRQoL. Women in the T-CBT experienced greater improvement in the physical component of HRQoL from baseline to 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum than the usual care group. At 6 months postpartum, the T-CBT group also experienced better HRQoL in the mental component of HRQoL than the usual care group. The T-CBT appears to be feasible and effective in improving HRQoL in women at risk of postnatal depression in the primary care practice.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Ms. Ada Wing Yee Ho for her help in trial treatment and our research team in data collection and management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR

    Fei-Wan Ngai

  2. Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR

    Paul Wai-Ching Wong

  3. Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR

    Ka-Fai Chung

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hospital Authority, 30 Gascoigne Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR

    Kwok-Yin Leung

Authors
  1. Fei-Wan Ngai
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  2. Paul Wai-Ching Wong
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  3. Ka-Fai Chung
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  4. Kwok-Yin Leung
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fei-Wan Ngai.

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Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Funding

This study was supported by the Health and Medical Research Fund of the Hong Kong SAR Government.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Additional information

Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT01507649

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Ngai, FW., Wong, P.WC., Chung, KF. et al. The effect of a telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy on quality of life: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Womens Ment Health 20, 421–426 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-017-0722-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-017-0722-0

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