Authors: Rawshan Jabeen, Mubarak Jabeen Salman, Ibtisam Qazi
The aim of this review was to explore the integration of maternal mental health into existing maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) programs so that delivery of mental health interventions can be done alongside MNCH interventions. Researchers investigated various studies across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and found that the integration of mental health services into primary health care, especially in MNCH programmes, may help in expanding the delivery of evidence-based psychosocial therapies to women through CHWs, lay counselors, and other frontline workers. Yet findings also revealed that there still exist significant obstacles to ensuring that CHWs have the required competence and necessary resources to offer evidence-based psychosocial services and high-quality care for common mental conditions over time. Researchers find that the use of digital platforms can help overcome these issues, especially in LMICs where they are generally widely accepted. These findings emphasize a need to advocate for the prioritization of maternal mental health while engaging stakeholders through diverse platforms. . In addition, a focus should be placed on providing in-depth and comprehensive resources for CHWs to increase the quality and quantity of mental health services throughout LMICs.
Link: Evidence of mobile health integration into primary health care systems for better maternal mental health in LMICs during COVID-19 pandemic - Review
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Resource Topic: COVID-19, Maternal mental health, Mobile health integration, primary healthcare
Resource Type: Review
Year: 2023
Region: Asia
Country: Brazil, China, India, Iran, Italy, Pakistan, South Africa, Uganda
Publisher May Restrict Access: No