Transformation of attitude through brief psychoeducation program for the husbands of women with postpartum psychiatric disorders

• Published in: Asian journal of psychiatry 2020-06, Vol.51, p.101841-101841, Article 101841
• Main Authors: Anchan, Veenashree, Janardhana, Navaneetham
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitude; Brief psychoeducation; Husbands; Postpartum psychiatric disorders
• ISSN: 1876-2018; 1876-2026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2019.101841

•This study is one of the initial efforts made systematically with scientific rigor in India on the subject of interest.•Biopsychosocial based informative and supportive model of intervention was used to achive the aim of the study.•The results supported that the brief psychoeducation had been effective in changing the attitude of the participants towards the condition of their spouse.•The study has its strong implication for mental health professionals especially Psychiatric Social Workers practicing at both clinical and nonclinical setup.•As a way forward this study could be replicated with a larger sample size with long follow up period using Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs). According to existing literature on Perinatal Psychiatric Services, husbands have not often been involved in the treatment of their spouses with Perinatal Psychiatric disorders, especially in India, despite the advantages as an adjunctive form of therapy. The current study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of brief psychoeducation on the attitude of husbands of women with postpartum psychiatric disorder through a biopsychosocial based informative and supportive model of intervention. A 3 session based Brief Psychoeducation Program (BPP) was developed for the targeted population and its effectiveness was evaluated through quasi-experimental research design. Using Community Attitude towards Mentally Ill Scale (CAMI) assessment of the outcome variable was done at 3 levels i.e., Pre (baseline), Post (immediately after the intervention) and Follow-up post (1 month after the intervention). A total of 21 participants were recruited meeting the study criteria. Friedmans test and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results indicated the transformation in the attitude of the participants in all the 4 domains of the scale from pre-intervention to post-intervention phase. The study has a strong implication for mental health professionals in this area at both clinical (medical and psychiatry settings) and nonclinical settings.