School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
J Eval Clin Pract. 2021 Dec;27(6):1291-1298. doi: 10.1111/jep.13543. Epub 2021 Feb 2.
Postpartum depression is a worldwide public health issue that can have long-term impact on the family. It is crucial to evaluate intervention program to help new parents cope with the stress of parenthood to reduce the risk of postpartum depression. The aim of this study was to explore the perceived benefits of the couple-based psychoeducation to first-time Hong Kong Chinese parents, and the crucial factors influencing the effectiveness of this program underpinned by the concept of process evaluation.
Using an exploratory qualitative design, a purposeful sample of 27 couples who had participated in the program were interviewed at 1-3 months postpartum. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed by thematic analysis.
The findings showed that the parents perceived the program to be useful in enhancing their parenting skills and emotional control, and increasing their sense of support. The effectiveness of the program was facilitated by (a) the predisposing factors such as couple-based approach to enhance mutual expectation and shared decision making when experiencing and managing challenges, and telephone follow-up calls to sustain the continuity of care from hospital to the community, (b) the enabling factor for instance, the time of intervention arranged in non-working hour, and (c) reinforcing factor namely involvement of midwives during program implementation and telephone follow-up consultation.
The results of this study suggest the potential of the couple-based psychoeducation to support first-time parents in taking care of their children and controlling their emotions in this critical transition. The program could be integrated into maternal and child care services on a regular basis, and thus accessible to all first-time parents.
产后抑郁症是一个全球性的公共卫生问题，它会对家庭产生长期影响。评估干预方案以帮助新父母应对为人父母的压力，从而降低产后抑郁症的风险至关重要。本研究旨在探讨夫妻为基础的心理教育对首次生育的中国香港父母的益处，以及在以过程评估概念为基础的情况下影响该方案有效性的关键因素。
采用探索性定性设计，在产后 1-3 个月，对 27 对参加该项目的夫妇进行了目的抽样访谈。采用半结构化访谈收集数据，并采用主题分析进行分析。
研究结果表明，父母认为该项目有助于提高他们的育儿技能和情绪控制能力，并增强他们的支持感。该方案的有效性得到了促进：（a）夫妻为基础的方法可以增强相互期望和共同决策的前置因素，从而在遇到和管理挑战时提高应对能力；（b）干预时间安排在非工作时间等促成因素；（c）实施方案和电话随访咨询中助产士的参与等强化因素。
本研究结果表明，夫妻为基础的心理教育有可能在这个关键的过渡时期支持首次生育的父母照顾孩子和控制情绪。该方案可以定期纳入母婴保健服务中，从而为所有首次生育的父母提供帮助。
