Community Medicine Abstracts - College of Medicine and Health ...
Community Medicine Abstracts - College of Medicine and Health ...
Community Medicine Abstracts - College of Medicine and Health ...
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Project No. 252 (2009)Knowledge, attitude <strong>and</strong> practice regarding postnatal mental health disordersamong pregnant women in Al Ain, UAEStudent Authors: Asmaa Ahmed Mohamed Khezaimy, Fatima Yousif Rashed AlSharhan, Aisha Mohamed Hasan Al Dhufair, Thana Saif Naser HarharaFaculty Supervisors: Dr. S. Shah, Dr. F. Al Maskari, Dr. S. ShabanAbstract:Introduction: Postpartum mental health disorders encompass postpartum blues,depression (PPD) <strong>and</strong> psychosis. Despite the high prevalence <strong>of</strong> PPD (22%) amongwomen in the UAE as noted previously, there is no local study on the knowledge <strong>and</strong>awareness <strong>of</strong> postpartum mental health problems. In view <strong>of</strong> the benefits <strong>of</strong>identification <strong>and</strong> intervention during pregnancy, this study aims at raising awarenessabout these disorders <strong>and</strong> measuring the prevalence <strong>of</strong> PPD among pregnant womenin the UAE.Methods: A total <strong>of</strong> 251 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at two majorhospitals <strong>and</strong> four primary health care clinics in AlAin were recruited to complete aquestionnaire <strong>and</strong> the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for this crosssectionalstudy.Results: 70.4% heard about postpartum mental health disorders, out <strong>of</strong> which only3% had excellent knowledge, 34% <strong>and</strong> 36% had poor <strong>and</strong> good knowledgerespectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the level <strong>of</strong> knowledgeacross different socio-demographic factors. Women who were better knowledgeablehad a positive attitude towards these illnesses (p value < 0.000). 59.1% were neverscreened for postpartum mental illnesses during postnatal follow-up. Using the EPDS,32.9% had depression. No risk factors were significantly correlated with the high EPDSscores.Conclusion: Taking into consideration the poor knowledge about postpartum mentalhealth disorders, <strong>and</strong> the large percentage <strong>of</strong> women suffering from depressivefeatures, we suggest the need to raise awareness about these disorders througheducational campaigns. Physicians should screen pregnant women for depressivefeatures, <strong>and</strong> encourage them to attend postpartum follow-up.
Change language