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How do women's partners view perinatal mental health services? A qualitative meta-synthesis.

Lever Taylor, B; Billings, J; Morant, N; Johnson, S; (2018) How do women's partners view perinatal mental health services? A qualitative meta-synthesis. Clin Psychology & Psychotherapy , 25 (1) pp. 112-129. 10.1002/cpp.2133. Green open access

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Perinatal mental health difficulties are prevalent among women and can adversely affect their partners too. There is also increasing recognition that a woman's partner can play a vital role in relation to her perinatal mental health and should be supported and involved in decisions about her care. Yet it is unclear how services are experienced by the partners of women with perinatal mental health difficulties. This study aimed to synthesize qualitative evidence of partners' views of perinatal mental health care. METHODS: A systematic search of 5 electronic databases identified 20 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The findings of these studies were synthesized using an approach based on meta-ethnography. RESULTS: Six themes were identified, namely, the marginalization and neglect of women's partners, an unmet need for information, partners' ambivalence about involvement and support, practical barriers to involvement, views about support for women's partners, and the impact on partners of the care women received. CONCLUSIONS: Given the importance of women's partners in relation to perinatal mental health as well as to women's engagement with support and treatment outcomes, greater consideration should be given to their needs to ensure they feel well informed and involved in perinatal mental health care, rather than marginalized. However, professionals also need to challenge the barriers to involvement and support that women's partners face and consider the ways in which services may reinforce these barriers. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE Partners of women with perinatal mental health difficulties play a vital role. However, they often feel uninformed and marginalized by services and professionals. They also face significant barriers to accessing support themselves or being more involved. Services and professionals may reinforce these barriers and need to challenge them. Further consideration must be given to the needs of women's partners.

Type: Article
Title: How do women's partners view perinatal mental health services? A qualitative meta-synthesis.
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1002/cpp.2133
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2133
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Meta-ethnography, metasynthesis, perinatal, postnatal, qualitative research, systematic review
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1572314
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