Breaking the Silence: Postpartum Depression Among Reproductive-aged Women in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

• Main Author: Henshaw, Atim
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: ScholarWorks 2017
• Subjects: Public Health Education and Promotion
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4142; https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5245&context=dissertations

Postpartum depression (PPD) is internationally recognized as one of the most prevalent and severe but neglected maternal mental health complications of childbirth. Previous studies have indicated that there is a high burden of disease associated with PPD in both developed and developing countries. However, there remain gaps in the current literature regarding the recognition and management of PPD in remote parts of the developing world. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs of health professionals towards PPD and examine the factors that either facilitated or hindered its recognition and management in a remote setting in Nigeria. The pen-3 cultural model was the conceptual framework used in this study. The study focused specifically on professionals with regard to the recognition and management of PPD in a rural hospital in Nigeria. Ten semi structured qualitative interviews were conducted with doctors and nurses from a rural hospital in Nigeria. Data were analyzed via phenomenological interpretative analysis. Results from the study revealed that health professionals in a remote setting in Nigeria have a working knowledge of PPD and perceived the condition as a serious public health concern, but were faced with numerous barriers from the institutional, organizational, and community level that hindered their ability to recognize and manage PPD in a timely manner. These results make an important contribution to the existing literature and can enhance social change initiatives through the enhancement of awareness of PPD, and the need for improvement of policies on comprehensive maternal mental health in remote parts of Nigeria.