Authors: Noriko Toyama , Inthanomchanh Vongphoumy , Manami Uehara,, Chika Sato , Futoshi Nishimoto , Kazuhiko Moji , Tiengkham Pongvongsa, Kokoro Shirai, Tomomi Takayama Misuzu Takahar, Yoko Tamashiro, Yumiko Endo, Sengchanh Kounnavong, and Jun Kobayashi
In the Lao district of Xepon, the majority of the Village Health Volunteer (VHV) workforce is male, which presents unique challenges when engaging with pregnant females for primary healthcare purposes. To enhance primary care among this population through VHVs, this study paired VHVs were partnered with female VHVs to understand the effect of a male and female VHV team on measures of depression in the postnatal period. Those females who were cared for by the partnership of a male VHV and female VHV experienced lower measures of postnatal depression than those who were cared for by male only VHVs, highlighting the benefit of utilizing female VHVs to improve maternal health outcomes in pregnant individuals of Xepon.
Link: Impact of village health volunteer support on postnatal depressive symptoms in the remote rural areas of Lao People’s Democratic Republic: a cross-sectional study
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Resource Topic: Community Health Workers/Volunteers, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Mental health
Resource Type: Research
Year: 2021
Region: Asia
Country: Laos
Publisher May Restrict Access: No