Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Women are at risk for depression after giving birth to a baby; this is known as postpartum depression (PPD). Immigrant women have a 2-3x higher risk for PPD than native-born women, however, we do not have a good understanding of how to meet the unique mental health service needs of immigrant women with PPD. The purpose of this study was to improve understanding of how health and social services can best help immigrant women with PPD get the mental health care they need. We interviewed 14 service providers who deliver mental health and social services to immigrant women in a region of Toronto. We wanted to know: 1) unique challenges immigrant women with PPD face in terms of getting care, and 2) what affects a service provider's ability to deliver services to best meet the needs of immigrant women with PPD. Providers found that building relationships with immigrant women was key to meeting their needs. Relationships were built through: involving women in decisions, understanding women's experiences, being culturally sensitive, involving family members, and providing adequate appointment time. Building trust and working in partnership with women helped improve PPD, ability to access services, and fit between services and needs. Providers also identified organizational and system barriers to ideal service provision. Barriers included assessment approaches, lack of treatment availability, wait times, and referrals to specialists. When services address social and economic factors that impact care seeking, access is enhanced. Providers' ability to coordinate services across organizations was highly dependent on differences in organizational and management approaches. Finally, providers believed that health and immigration system policies could work more effectively to optimally support immigrant families. The research can inform decision makers and service providers when designing and delivering health care to best meet the needs of immigrant women with PPD.