Postnatal psychosocial group for vulnerable parents
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An evaluation of a single session postnatal psychological group for vulnerable parents from ethnically minoritised groups.
IRAS ID
340251
Contact name
Sheli Algranati
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Holloway, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Parenthood involves major psychological and social lifestyle changes that can be stressful for parents and may result in new parents experiencing less confidence in fulfilling these new roles. Early parenting interventions have been developed to help support new parents to acquire the knowledge and skills to fulfill these new roles, with the hope that this would improve their confidence levels. Preliminary evidence highlights significant improvements in parents’ confidence following parenting interventions however, the evidence base remains mixed and limited.
Additionally, within the UK, there are issues with access to perinatal mental health services, particularly within underrepresented and ethnically minoritised communities. There have been attempts to increase the availability and acceptability of parenting interventions for those from socially excluded and low-income families however this has come with mixed success. Therefore, there is a need to continue to trial early parenting interventions for those in communities traditionally not accessing services and from ethnically minoritised groups, with the hope of improving parental confidence and wellbeing and access to services.
The project aims to: 1) To examine the levels of parental self-efficacy and wellbeing for vulnerable parents from ethnically minoritised groups; 2) Evaluate the impact of the single session postnatal psychosocial group intervention on vulnerable parents parental self-efficacy, wellbeing and access to psychosocial services pre and post intervention; 3) To explore qualitatively parents' experiences of attending the single session postnatal psychosocial group intervention, including barriers and facilitators, and whether attending the group impacted their self-efficacy and wellbeing and improved their access to services in the community.Summary of results
Parents at risk of marginalisation had high levels of patient activation and mild self-efficacy at the start of the group. This suggested that parents were engaged in their own health and healthcare but may lack confidence in certain areas of parenting. Parents’ levels of activations increased after the group, but their self-efficacy stayed the same.
Parents shared positive experiences from the group such as gaining new knowledge, skills, and confidence, meeting other parents with shared experiences and having the chance for their child to meet other children. Parents also discussed challenges they faced in accessing both the group and other community services which were not designed with careful attention to their needs. This included difficulties with group timings, language barriers, the demands of caregiving, and the location of services.REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EM/0146
Date of REC Opinion
3 Jul 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion