Health service use and perinatal mental health (V1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Records-based health service use among women with perinatal anxiety and associated disorders (V1)
IRAS ID
324500
Contact name
Susan Ayers
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City, University of London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
researchregistry7767, Research Registry
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 31 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
The majority of women with mental health problems in pregnancy and after birth do not access healthcare. This may be particularly so for women with less recognised problems such as anxiety and associated disorders. Understanding more about women’s health service use may lead to improvements in health services to support women. This NIHR-funded study aims to describe: women’s health service use over the ten years prior to giving birth and the first year postnatally; the pattern of perinatal mental health disorders over that period, and agreement of women’s self-report data with their medical records.
The women invited to take part have already participated in the MAP study in England and Scotland, which followed over 2000 women through pregnancy and birth. Almost 800 are now taking part in the MAP Alliance study which follows them for two years postnatally and involves five related studies. Women are eligible to take part in this particular MAP Alliance study (WP2) if they met the criteria for a current diagnosis of anxiety or associated disorders according to a diagnostic interview they completed during the MAP study.In this work package we will examine the General Practitioner (GP) medical records of around 40 or so women who are eligible to take part. After gaining the women’s consent, the research team will examine their GP medical records for the ten years prior to giving birth and for the first year postnatally to understand the frequency and type of service use by type of anxiety and associated disorders, and the timeliness of support provided to women. GP records will be compared to data that the women have already provided via self-report questionnaires during pregnancy and for 1 year postnatally to assess agreement between self-report and medical records. The projects runs from June 2023 to January 2024.
Summary of Results
: One in five women experience a mental health problem in pregnancy or the first year after birth (also called the perinatal period). Perinatal anxiety and related difficulties such as depression are common and cause suffering for women and their families. They can lead to problems including premature birth and mental health and behavioural problems for children through to adulthood. At the moment we know little about what care is offered to and accessed by women with perinatal anxiety and related difficulties.The aim of the study was to gain understanding of women’s use of health services for anxiety and related difficulties during pregnancy and after birth. We were also interested in examining women’s health service use in the ten years leading up to their pregnancy to gain better understanding of how anxiety may develop over time. To do this, the research team planned to examine information in medical records held by General Practitioners (GPs).
Women were eligible to take part if they: had met the criteria for a diagnosis of anxiety or a related disorder when they took part in a diagnostic interview as part of the ‘Methods of Assessing Pregnancy’ (MAP) study; and had agreed to be followed up in the ‘Optimising Care for Perinatal Anxiety’ (MAP Alliance) study, which examined women’s use of health services for two years after giving birth.
Of the 44 eligible women, 26 consented to the study and provided details of their GP practice so that the research team could contact their GP to request a copy of their medical record. However, most GP practices were unable to provide the medical records within the timetable of the project. Consequently, the researchers were unable to carry out the research as planned. Although the original aims of the project could not be met, valuable insights were gained about the challenges of carrying out such studies using GP-held medical records, which other researchers and health service research organisations may benefit in future.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
23/WS/0096
Date of REC Opinion
30 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion