Online and Offline Intervention for the Prevention of Postpartum Depression among Rural-to-Urban Floating Women: Study Protocol for a Randomized Control Trial

Xichenhui Qiu, Ting Li, Qiyu Fang, Lingling Huang and Xujuan Zheng
Additional contact information
Xichenhui Qiu: School of Nursing, Health Science Centre, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Ting Li: Department of Obstetrics, South China Hospital, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518116, China
Qiyu Fang: School of Nursing, Health Science Centre, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Lingling Huang: School of Nursing, Health Science Centre, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Xujuan Zheng: School of Nursing, Health Science Centre, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-13

Abstract: Background: As a higher-risk group of postpartum depression (PPD), rural to urban floating women urgently require effective and accessible mental health care after childbirth to prevent PPD. Even though there were various interventions, only a small number of women have sought professional help to reduce their depressive symptoms after childbirth, suggesting the need for an innovative intervention delivery to overcome women’s help-seeking barriers. Online and offline (OTO) interventions, which combine face-to-face and internet-based interventions, provide apparent benefits. As a result, the protocol for a randomized controlled study (RCT) was designed to examine the effectiveness and acceptability of OTO intervention on psychosocial outcomes for Chinese rural-to-urban floating women including the reduction of PPD symptoms and PPD stigma, and the improvement of social support and quality of life. Methods: A double blind, multicenter, RCT will be used and a total of 226 participants will be recruited. The OTO intervention called the “Hi, Mom” program will integrate two face-to-face consulting sessions with online sessions comprising an information module, a communication module, an ask-the-expert module, and a peer story module over a period of three months. The control group will receive routine postpartum care. Outcome measures including PPD symptoms, PPD stigma, social support, quality of life, mother–child bonding, and satisfaction with health care received will be conducted at baseline, postintervention, and three-month follow-up. Results and Discussion: If the intervention is effective, it will provide a convenient and effective intervention program on postpartum mental well-being for rural-to-urban floating women. As the first study to test the effects of an OTO intervention for the prevention of PPD in China, the outcomes gained from this study will provide evidence-based knowledge for clinical practice on PPD prevention based on online and offline health technologies. Moreover, it could be used to plan a culturally appropriate OTO intervention for migrant mothers from different countries.

Keywords: postpartum depression; online and offline intervention; postpartum women; e-health technology; social stigma; social support; study protocol (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7951/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7951/ (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:19:y:2022:i:13:p:7951-:d:851075

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 ().