Immigrant and refugee women's post-partum depression help-seeking experiences and access to care: a review and analysis of the literature

This review and analysis of the literature is about the phenomenon of post-partum depression (PPD) and the barriers and facilitators, which may influence immigrant and refugee women's health seeking behaviour and decision making about post-partum care. As part of a qualitative research study conducted in a western province of Canada a critical review of English language peer-reviewed publications from 1988 to 2008 was undertaken by the researchers. The overall goal of the study is to raise awareness and understanding of what would be helpful in meeting the mental health needs of the immigrant and refugee women during the post-partum period. Several online databases were searched: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, MEDLINE (Ovid), EBM Reviews - Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Findings suggest: (1) needs, issues and specific risk factors for PPD among immigrant and refugee women have been limited; (2) descriptive accounts regarding culture and P) are found in the literature but impact cultural factors upon PPD has not been well investigated; (3) few studies examine how social support, gender, institutional and organizational structures present barriers to the women's health seeking behaviour; and (4) additional research is required to evaluate immigrant and refugee women's perspectives about their social support needs, the barriers they experience and their preferred support interventions.