Barriers and facilitators of psychological help-seeking behaviors for perinatal women with depressive symptoms: A qualitative systematic review based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research

Objective: To identify barriers and facilitators related to psychological help-seeking behaviors of perina-tal depression from all related stakeholders (e.g., perinatal women, family members, mental health care providers, and policymakers).Design: A literature search of six English-language databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL) and three Chinese-language databases (China National Knowl-edge Infrastructure, Wan Fang, Chinese Biomedical Literature Databases). Studies published in English or Chinese using qualitative or mixed methods to explore the psychological help-seeking behaviors of women with perinatal depression were included. Data extraction was synthesized for common themes based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. The Joanna Briggs Institute Qualita-tive Assessment and Review Instrument was used to appraise methodologic quality.Participants and settings: Perinatal women with depression, mental health care providers (e.g., pedia-tricians/nurses, social workers, nurse-midwives, perinatal psychiatrists, community health workers, and administrators), partners and informal caregivers (e.g., community birth attendants, elderly mothers, and men of reproductive age) based in high, middle and low income countries. Findings: Forty-three articles were included in this review and presented according to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research domains (in parentheses). The most common barriers to help seeking were stigma (individual characteristics), misconceptions (individual characteristics), cultural be-liefs (inner setting), and lack of social support (outer setting). The most common facilitators were pro-viding adequate support (outer setting) and perinatal health care professional training on how to detect, manage and discuss depression; establishing supportive relationships with mental health care providers; and eroding stigma (all three implementation processes).Key conclusions and implications for practice: This systematic review could serve as a reference framework for health authorities to develop diverse strategies for improving the psychological help-seeking behaviors of women with perinatal depression. More high-quality studies focused on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research characteristics of available interventions, and implementation processes are needed in future research. (c) 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The objective of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators related to psychological help-seeking behaviors of perinatal depression from various stakeholders. A total of 43 articles were included, with the most common barriers being stigma, misconceptions, cultural beliefs, and lack of social support. The most common facilitators were providing adequate support, professional training, and eroding stigma.