Isah Abdulmuminu, Aluh Deborah Oyine, Ugwoke Maximus Onyedika, Anene-Okeke Chigozie Gloria
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.
Discov Ment Health. 2025 Sep 2;5(1):135. doi: 10.1007/s44192-025-00249-8.
Postpartum depression (PPD) is an important public health problem which often goes unrecognized and untreated, especially in low-income settings. Poor mental health literacy of community members has been shown to create barriers to help-seeking for PPD.
The study assessed the mental health literacy of postpartum depression (PPD) among staff members in a Nigerian university.
This was a cross-sectional survey that employed a case vignette format. A questionnaire, consisting of a socio-demographic form and a case vignette, was distributed to a convenient sample of 400 staff members in the faculties of pharmaceutical sciences, veterinary medicine, and agricultural sciences. Data were analysed using the IBM SPSS Statistics (version - 20). Descriptive analysis (frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviations) were used to summarize the findings. The relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge score of PPD was assessed using chi-square analysis. Statistical significance was set at p-value ˂0.05.
The majority of the respondents were females 195 (54.0%) and were between 18 and 30 years of age (35.5%). Only 16.3% of respondents correctly identified PPD and nearly half (44.9%) of the respondents opined that the condition is 'very serious. Poor knowledge of PPD was statistically significant associated with age [X (4) = 18.252, p = 0.001], marital status [X (3) = 16.888, p = 0.001], and educational qualification [X (3) = 59.729, p = < 0.001], while medical help- seeking of PPD was statistically significant associated with age [X (4) = 13.982, p = < 0.007], and educational qualification [X (3) = 10.716, p = < 0.013].
The overall knowledge of postpartum depression among the staff members of the university was relatively poor and more female staff members than male staff members could identify postpartum depression. The study findings highlight the need to create awareness and improve knowledge of PPD through campaign-specific mental health programmes, educational programmes, integration of mental health programmes for university staff development to aid in early identification, intervention, media, and other targeted strategies such as creating a culture that encourages open discussions about mental health and provides accessible support services and, developing and implementing policies that address mental health in the university and the country at large.
产后抑郁症（PPD）是一个重要的公共卫生问题，常常未被识别和治疗，尤其是在低收入环境中。社区成员心理健康素养低已被证明是寻求产后抑郁症帮助的障碍。
本研究评估了尼日利亚一所大学工作人员对产后抑郁症（PPD）的心理健康素养。
这是一项采用病例 vignette 格式的横断面调查。一份由社会人口统计学表格和病例 vignette 组成的问卷被分发给药学院、兽医学院和农业学院400名工作人员的便利样本。数据使用 IBM SPSS Statistics（版本 - 20）进行分析。描述性分析（频率、百分比、均值和标准差）用于总结研究结果。使用卡方分析评估社会人口统计学特征与产后抑郁症知识得分之间的关系。统计学显著性设定为 p 值˂0.05。
大多数受访者为女性，共195人（54.0%），年龄在18至30岁之间（35.5%）。只有16.3%的受访者正确识别了产后抑郁症，近一半（44.9%）的受访者认为该病症“非常严重”。产后抑郁症知识欠缺在统计学上与年龄[X（4）=18.252，p = 0.001]、婚姻状况[X（3）=16.888，p = 0.001]和教育程度[X（3）=59.729，p = <0.001]显著相关，而寻求产后抑郁症医疗帮助在统计学上与年龄[X（4）=13.982，p = <0.007]和教育程度[X（3）=10.716，p = <0.013]显著相关。
该大学工作人员对产后抑郁症的总体了解相对较差，能识别产后抑郁症的女性工作人员多于男性工作人员。研究结果强调需要通过特定活动的心理健康项目、教育项目、将心理健康项目纳入大学工作人员发展以帮助早期识别和干预、媒体以及其他针对性策略，如营造鼓励公开讨论心理健康并提供可及支持服务的文化，以及制定和实施解决大学及整个国家心理健康问题的政策，来提高对产后抑郁症的认识和知识水平。
