1 - Partners' experiences of care from mental healthcare services
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Experiences of care from mental healthcare services among partners of women accessing support for postpartum psychosis: a qualitative study
IRAS ID
332391
Contact name
Emily Roxburgh
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 25 days
Research summary
This study will explore what partners of women who experienced psychosis after giving birth think of the care that they received from mental healthcare services. Psychosis after giving birth is commonly referred to as postpartum psychosis, and typically occurs in the first two weeks after giving birth. Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, and mood and cognitive changes. We know that partners of women who experience postpartum psychosis play an important role in the woman’s care and recovery. Partners take on more responsibility in the family home and often feel isolated and frustrated. They also report feeling excluded and not taken seriously by staff working in healthcare services. The NHS long term plan recognises that partners need support that is unique to their needs and aims to provide mental health checks and therapy for partners by 2023/24. Guidelines also highlight that services should be including partners in the woman’s care.
Therefore, It is important for us to understand how involved, supported, and informed partners feel. We will invite partners who see our study advertised to take part in a questionnaire first, followed by an interview lasting just over an hour. The interview will ask questions about the partners wellbeing, if partners were offered any support, what partners thought of information provided by healthcare staff and their understanding of psychosis after birth, what the process of accessing support was like, and how involved partners felt by services. Partners will share their experiences to help us understand what they found helpful, unhelpful, and what they would like to see more of. These findings could help services support partners of women who experience psychosis after birth, hoping to improve their wellbeing and experiences of care.
Lay summary of study results: Partners experiences of mental health care during postpartum psychosisThis research was led by Emily Roxburgh (Trainee Clinical Psychologist), with support from Dr Joanne Hodgekins (Clinical Psychologist) and Dr Billie Lever Taylor (Clinical Psychologist). Emily and Joanne are based at the University of East Anglia. Billie is based at Kings College London.
Why did we do the study?
Postpartum psychosis is a serious mental health problem. It can happen after a woman has a baby. It affects about 1 or 2 women in every 1,000 and needs quick treatment. Postpartum psychosis can also affect the woman's partner. Partners are often very involved in caring for the woman and baby after birth. But, we still do not know much about how mental health services support them during this time.
What did we do?
In this study, we spoke to 12 partners. We wanted to find out what it was like for them during this time. We hope the results will help services give better support to partners.
What did we find?
From speaking to partners, we found three main themes. These are the key ideas that came up when talking to different partners. The themes were: ‘understanding and responding to postpartum psychosis’, ‘partners’ involvement in postpartum psychosis care’ and ‘the responsibilities undertaken and partner wellbeing’. Partners often found it hard to spot the signs of postpartum psychosis. Some also felt that staff did not know much about it. Many said that there should be more information about postpartum psychosis for families and health workers. Most partners had to speak up for the woman and help her get support. Many said services did not include them or ask what they needed. The stress of the situation and the roles they took on affected their mental health. Some said they did not get the help they needed from services. A few partners said they were lucky to get support from charities or their general practitioner. They said care for partners should be more organised and easier to access.
What does this mean?
These findings show that partners need more help and support from mental health services. Services should give clear information and include partners in care. Staff also need more training on postpartum psychosis. We also need more research to learn what partners need at different stages. It is also important to hear what partners from different backgrounds have to say.
How do we plan to share what we found?
A full version of this study has been submitted for publication to a scientific journal. Findings will also be shared with mental health services.
REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/SC/0013
Date of REC Opinion
9 Feb 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion