Informing Perinatal Mental Health Services
INDIVIDUAL
Beliefs About Health Services
Certain beliefs about health services can impact whether services are implemented and delivered successfully, and whether women seek help and access services. These beliefs include:
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Services only offer medication
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Services are stretched
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Services are too complicated
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No trust in health services
Services only offer medication
Believing health services will only offer medication for perinatal mental illness may act as a barrier to perinatal mental health care.
"I knew she would just write me a prescription and send me away…that wasn’t what I wanted."
Evidence level: Low
Parts of the care pathway affected: Deciding to consult, Assessment, Deciding to disclose, Access to treatment, Provision of optimal treatment.
Key literature:
Services Are Too Complicated
Believing health services are too complicated may act as a barrier to perinatal mental health care
"Consistently identified barriers to care for immigrant women were: ‘not understanding the health-care system’”
Evidence level: Low
Parts of the care pathway affected: Deciding to consult, Access to treatment.
Key literature:
Services Are Stretched
Believing perinatal mental health services are too stretched and therefore will be unable to help, may act as a barrier to perinatal mental health care.
"I think it was just that they were really busy and just didn’t really have enough time for everybody with their kids".
Evidence level: Low
Parts of the care pathway affected: Deciding to consult, Deciding to disclose.
Key literature:
No trust in health services
Having little trust in health services may act as a barrier to perinatal mental health care
"The personal barriers described were mistrust, [and] fear of mental health service systems".
Evidence level: Low
Parts of the care pathway affected: Access to treatment
Key literature: