Barriers and Facilitators to Resuming In-Person Psychotherapy with Perinatal Patients amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multistakeholder Perspective

Nicole Andrejek, Sabrina Hossain, Nour Schoueri-Mychasiw, Gul Saeed, Maral Zibaman, Angie K. Puerto Niño, Samantha Meltzer-Brody, Richard K. Silver, Simone N. Vigod and Daisy R. Singla
Additional contact information
Nicole Andrejek: Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada
Sabrina Hossain: Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada
Nour Schoueri-Mychasiw: Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada
Gul Saeed: Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
Maral Zibaman: Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada
Angie K. Puerto Niño: Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada
Samantha Meltzer-Brody: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
Richard K. Silver: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, NorthShore University Health System, Evanston, IL 60201, USA
Simone N. Vigod: Department of Psychiatry, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, ON M5S 1B2, Canada
Daisy R. Singla: Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, Toronto, ON M5G 1X5, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-15

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, outpatient psychotherapy transitioned to telemedicine. This study aimed to examine barriers and facilitators to resuming in-person psychotherapy with perinatal patients as the pandemic abates. We conducted focus group and individual interviews with a sample of perinatal participants ( n = 23), psychotherapy providers ( n = 28), and stakeholders ( n = 18) from Canada and the U.S. involved in the SUMMIT trial, which is aimed at improving access to mental healthcare for perinatal patients with depression and anxiety. Content analysis was used to examine perceived barriers and facilitators. Reported barriers included concerns about virus exposure in a hospital setting (77.8% stakeholders, 73.9% perinatal participants, 71.4% providers) or on public transportation (50.0% stakeholders, 26.1% perinatal participants, 25.0% providers), wearing a mask during sessions (50.0% stakeholders, 25.0% providers, 13.0% participants), lack of childcare (66.7% stakeholders, 46.4% providers, 43.5% perinatal participants), general transportation barriers (50.0% stakeholders, 47.8% perinatal participants, 25.0% providers), and the burden of planning and making time for in-person sessions (35.7% providers, 34.8% perinatal participants, 27.8% stakeholders). Reported facilitators included implementing and communicating safety protocols (72.2% stakeholders, 47.8% perinatal participants, 39.3% providers), conducting sessions at alternative or larger locations (44.4% stakeholders, 32.1% providers, 17.4% perinatal participants), providing incentives (34.8% perinatal participants, 21.4% providers, 11.1% stakeholders), and childcare and flexible scheduling options (31.1% perinatal participants, 16.7% stakeholders). This study identified a number of potential barriers and illustrated that COVID-19 has fostered and amplified barriers. Future interventions to facilitate resuming in-person sessions should focus on patient-centered strategies based on empathy regarding ongoing risk-aversion among perinatal patients despite existing safety protocols, and holistic thinking to make access to in-person psychotherapy easier and more accessible for perinatal patients.

Keywords: perinatal depression and anxiety; psychotherapy; barriers; facilitators; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12234/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12234/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:12234-:d:684698

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().