Abstract
Partner-related factors associated with the occurrence of Postpartum Depression (PPD) may justify the partner’s inclusion in preventive and treatment approaches. The aim of this qualitative systematic review was to synthesize the literature on partner-inclusive interventions designed to prevent or treat postpartum depression (PPD) in women. In accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, the systematic search of studies published between 1967 and May 2015 in PsycINFO and PubMed identified 26 studies that met the inclusion criteria, which reported on 24 interventions. The following partner parameters were analyzed: participation type, session content, mental health assessment, attendance assessment, and the effects of partner’s participation on the women’s response to the interventions. Total participation by the partner was mostly reported in the prevention studies, whereas partial participation was reported in the treatment studies. The session content was mostly based on psychoeducation about PPD and parenthood, coping strategies to facilitate the transition to parenthood such as the partner’s emotional and instrumental support, and problem-solving and communication skills. Some benefits perceived by the couples underscore the relevance of the partner’s inclusion in PPD interventions. However, the scarce information about the partner’s attendance and the associated effects on the women’s intervention outcomes, along with methodological limitations of the studies, made it difficult to determine if the partner’s participation was associated with the intervention’s efficacy. Conclusions about the clinical value of including partners in PPD interventions are still limited. More research is warranted to better inform health policy strategies.
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References
References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the systematic review.
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Funding
This study is part of the research project “A web-based cognitive-behavioural intervention to prevent postpartum depression: A dyadic and multidimensional approach”, integrated in the research group Relationships, Development & Health of the R&D Unit Cognitive-Behavioral Center for Research and Intervention of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra. This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). Stephanie Alves and Alexandra Martins are supported by a PhD Scholarship from the FCT (SFRH/BD/102717/2014 and SFRH/BD/100117/2014, respectively). Ana Fonseca is supported by a Post-doctoral Scholarship from FCT (SFRH/BPD/93996/2013). Marco Pereira is a FCT Researcher (IF/00402/2014). The funders were not involved in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Author Contributions
S.A. defined and conducted the search strategy, reviewed the titles and abstracts of the electronic searches, and assessed the studies for eligibility. S.A. and A.M. analyzed independently each article that met the inclusion criteria. S.A. assessed the methodological quality of included studies and A.M. checked the extracted data. Any disagreement was discussed and resolved by consensus or, if necessary, by discussion with referral with A.F., M.C.C., and M.P., who supervised this process. S.A. wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed to and approved the final manuscript.
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Alves, S., Martins, A., Fonseca, A. et al. Preventing and Treating Women’s Postpartum Depression: A Qualitative Systematic Review on Partner-Inclusive Interventions. J Child Fam Stud 27, 1–25 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0889-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0889-z