Women's mental health

While the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted Black American communities, there is a lack of empirical research examining mental health experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic among this population. This report examines the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and stress, depression, and anxiety among Black women. A cohort study with supplementary data was conducted among 45 Black American women with depressive symptoms participating in an ongoing randomized controlled trial of a mindfulness-based intervention (M-Body) at a Federally Qualified Health Center...

PURPOSE: Postpartum depression (PPD) brings adverse and serious consequences to both new parents and newborns. Neuroticism affects PPD, which remains controversial for confounding factors and reverse causality in cross-sectional research. Therefore, mendelian randomization (MR) study has been adopted to investigate their causal relationship. METHODS: This study utilized large-scale genome-wide association study genetic pooled data from three major databases: the United Kingdom Biobank, the European Bioinformatics Institute, and the FinnGen databases...

BACKGROUND: Climate change poses a substantial threat to the mental wellbeing of young people. Population-level research is urgently needed to help inform policies and interventions to ensure that young people are not burdened by long-term mental health impacts from climate change. We sought to identify the prevalence, distribution, and factors associated with climate change-related mental and emotional health outcomes among young people (aged 13-34 years) in Canada. METHODS: This study is part of a larger cross-sectional survey, which examined mental and emotional health responses to climate change among individuals aged 13 years or older from across Canada...

BACKGROUND: The emotional bond that a mother senses to her infant is essential to their social, emotional, and cognitive development. Understanding the level of mother-infant bonding plays an imperative role in the excellence of care. However, in Lebanon, there is a paucity of information about mother-infant bonding in the postpartum period. Given that Lebanese pregnant women constitute an important part of the population to look at, the objectives of the study were to (1) validate the Arabic version of the mother-infant bonding scale and (2) the relation between mother-infant bond and postpartum depression/anxiety; (3) the moderating effect of child abuse in the association between mother-infant bond and postpartum depression/anxiety...

Residential substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs are challenged by the differing values of the problem-solving court (PSC) and child welfare (CW) systems, along with communication barriers between staff. This study aimed to understand, from the viewpoints of SUD treatment providers, how divergent values and communication barriers adversely affect women's residential SUD treatment. We conducted qualitative semistructured interviews with 18 SUD treatment clinicians and six directors from four women's residential SUD treatment programs...

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has been extensively discussed in the context of its effect on mental health. Although global suicide rates have remained stable during the pandemic, the specific effect on non-fatal suicide behaviours during and after the pandemic remains underexplored. This study aims to investigate patterns of non-fatal suicide behaviours before, during, and after the pandemic. METHODS: In this cohort study, we used data from all hospitals in Catalonia, Spain, collected through the Catalan Suicide Risk Code, which is a specifically designed suicide attempt surveillance protocol, involving a face-to-face, in-depth psychiatric evaluation, after a Catalan resident presents any suicide risk behaviour in any public health-care setting...

INTRODUCTION: The period from pregnancy to postpartum is a vulnerable time with an increased risk of mental illness. The COVID-19 pandemic led to restrictions in peripartum care, such as infection control measures, or restrictions regarding accompanying persons. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Effects of COVID-19-related restrictions on the psyche and well-being during the peripartum period in Austria were retrospectively assessed using a partially standardized online questionnaire...

The world's health, economic, and social systems have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With lockdown measures being a common response strategy in most countries, many individuals were faced with financial and mental health challenges. The current study explored the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological well-being, perception of risk factors and coping strategies of two vulnerable groups in Malaysia, namely women and older adults from low-income households (USD592). A purposive sample of 30 women and 30 older adults was interviewed via telephone during Malaysia's Movement Control Order (MCO) regarding the challenges they faced throughout the pandemic...

Urban regeneration programmes are interventions meant to enhance the wellbeing of residents in deprived areas, although empirical evidence reports mixed results. We evaluated the health impact of a participatory and neighbourhood-wide urban regeneration programme, Pla de Barris 2016-2020, in Barcelona. A pre-post with a comparison group study design. Using data from a cross-sectional survey performed in 2016 and 2021. The health outcomes analysed were mental health, alcohol and psychotropic drug use, perceived health status, physical activity and obesity...

The UK Covid-19 New Mum Study (cross-sectional study) recorded maternal experience during the early stages of the pandemic. Our previous analyses showed that the pandemic and 2020 national lockdown negatively impacted maternal mental health. Here, we describe changes in infant behaviour (crying and fussiness) reported by the mother during the Covid-19 pandemic compared to beforehand, and test whether these changes are associated with maternal variables (mental health, coping, financial insecurity, income and household support)...

Drawing upon in-depth, semistructured interviews with 26 LGB participants, we explored how LGB individuals experience IPV uniquely in Türkiye. Conducting thematic analysis, we generated four themes: (a) invalidation of sexual identity, (b) controlling sexuality and sexual behaviors, (c) disclosure of sexual orientation, and (d) binegativity. The analysis emphasizes LGB-specific power dynamics influencing IPV. A discussion is provided regarding the extent to which these four themes are specific to IPV in LGB relationships...

PURPOSE: We evaluated the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a standardized nurse delivered mobile phone intervention to improve adherence to antiretroviral treatment and clinical outcomes. METHODS: Feasibility and acceptability of the phone intervention was assessed with rates of eligibility, completed visits, and attritions. Intervention fidelity was assessed by checking recorded calls and feedback. Efficacy was assessed using a randomized controlled trial in which 120 women living with HIV and psychosocial vulnerabilities, were randomized to Treatment as Usual (TAU = 60) or TAU plus the mobile phone intervention (N = 60)...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health issue that has grave physical and mental health consequences for millions of women. The judicial system plays a critical role in responding to IPV principally through the criminal justice system, family law, and/or child welfare jurisdictions. However, victims/survivors who interact with the legal system report negative experiences. An under-researched area of scholarship is the degree to which judicial actors understand the mental health impacts of IPV on victims/survivors and how they apply that knowledge in practice...

Introduction: Few studies have examined the associations of intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure during pregnancy and types of IPV with antenatal depression among underserved pregnant women. Methods: Data came from participants from a Healthy Start program in South Carolina between 2015 and 2019 ( n = 1,629). The first two questions in the Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) were used to measure IPV exposure, that is, having a problematic relationship with their partner. Those who had IPV exposure were assessed with six additional questions of the WAST...

Background: Women Veterans have unique health care utilization patterns; however, video-based primary care utilization among and between women and men has not been well examined. Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, we calculated gender-stratified video visit adoption (i.e., likelihood) and frequency (i.e., rate of use among users) between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022, by demographic and clinical characteristics known to impact health care utilization. Results: Among 5,389,139 Veterans (9.2% women), 32% of women and 18...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The relationship between oral contraceptive pill (OCP) and suicidal ideation remains unclear. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of suicidal ideation among US women and evaluate their associates overall and according to OCP use status. METHODS: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2012 were used to calculate the prevalence and associates of suicidal ideation in women using OCP. Suicidal ideation was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9...

INTRODUCTION: Relatively little research has explored non-Western women workers and their career transitions within their unique cultural contexts. Thus, more context-sensitive approaches to women's career trajectories are needed. METHODS: Based on Bian and Wang's Career Decision Tree Model (2019) as a conceptual framework, the reasons for South Korean women workers' career transitions and influencing factors were explored using a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews with 35 South Korean women workers at various career stages...

BACKGROUND: Sodium valproate (valproate) that is used both as an anti-epileptic and a mood stabiliser is teratogenic in pregnancy. A Dear Health Care Professional Letter (DHCPL) issued in December 2015 recommended the avoidance of sodium valproate prescription in women of childbearing age (WOCBA) and pregnant women. AIM: This study aimed to describe the prescription pattern of valproate in female mental healthcare users (MHCUs). SETTING: Regional hospital psychiatry department in King Dinizulu Hospital Complex, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal...

BACKGROUND: Women charged with violent offences may be referred by courts for forensic psychiatric assessment to determine whether mental disorder or intellectual disability impacts their fitness to stand trial and/or criminal responsibility. The profile of these women is a poorly researched area in South Africa. AIM: This study examined the socio-demographic, offence-related, and clinical profile of South African women charged with violent offences referred for forensic assessment...

Health-related stigma is associated with adverse outcomes including depression, stress and reduced engagement in health behaviours which are particularly harmful in pregnancy and the postpartum. Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) report negative psychosocial experiences and may be at risk of stigma related to the condition. We aimed to understand women's experiences of GDM-specific stigma. Individual interviews were conducted with n = 53 women living in the UK with a current or past (within 4 years) GDM...