A Literature Review: Barriers to Care Amongst Immigrant Women with Postpartum Depression in Canada
| dc.contributor.author | Rukhsar, Gul | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-05-17T17:10:21Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-05-17T17:10:21Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-05-15 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2024-05-17T17:10:20Z | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a prevalent condition among new mothers, affecting 10-15% of the population. However, immigrant women are at a higher risk of developing PPD than non-immigrant women, with a 1.5-5 times greater likelihood. Access barriers such as social isolation, financial instability, and limited awareness of healthcare services hinder PPD care access for immigrant women. Although the Canadian Task Force Prevention Guidelines advocate for PPD screening, a lack of substantial research on its importance could potentially increase the challenges immigrant women encounter when seeking proper PPD care. Objective: For this literature review, several online databases were utilized. This review aims to identify the barriers immigrant women face when seeking help for postpartum depression and understand what would help meet the mental health needs of immigrant and refugee women during the postpartum period. Methods: Using key terms related to access barriers to postpartum depression care among immigrant women in Canada. This review searched several online databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL. Six articles met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Results: Five studies explored the challenges immigrant women experience when seeking postpartum depression care in Canada, while one study investigated Canadian guidelines on the recommendation against screening for postpartum depression. However, only limited insight was given into its effects on the immigrant population. Three common themes that affected immigrant women's behaviour when seeking care were a cultural influence on PPD, lack of awareness about service accessibility and quality of care, and migrant-related issues such as language barriers and discrimination. Conclusion: This literature review highlights the multifaceted nature of the challenges faced by immigrant women in accessing postpartum care for depression in Canada. Factors such as language barriers, stigma, cultural influence on help-seeking behaviours, lack of awareness about available services, and migrant-related issues contribute to these challenges. The study underscores the need for culturally sensitive care that considers the unique experiences of immigrant women. Additionally, the findings highlight the importance of training healthcare professionals to improve their cultural understanding and awareness, which can help build trusting relationships with their patients. This review provides practical recommendations for improving care delivery and outcomes, including greater awareness about available services and incorporating PPD screening into Canadian guidelines. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1993/38229 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.rights | open access | en_US |
| dc.title | A Literature Review: Barriers to Care Amongst Immigrant Women with Postpartum Depression in Canada | |
| dc.type | manuscript | |
| local.author.affiliation | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences::Max Rady College of Medicine::Department of Family Medicine |