Background
Perinatal mental health conditions, especially depression, affect women during this period. According to WHO, 10% of pregnant women and 13% of postpartum women experience depressive disorders, with prevalence rates even higher in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In severe cases, these mental health disorders can lead to suicide and adversely affect a mother’s ability to care for herself and her child development. Studies show that the right care and support provided to women during the perinatal period can help them in dealing with mental health challenges that occur. In low- and middle-income countries there is a gap in receiving mental health, especially in resource-constrained settings like Madhya Pradesh, where the mental health professional-to-population ratio is critically low.
Methods
The e-poster will present the digitization and pilot journey of the Thinking Healthy Program Peer-delivered (THPP), an evidence-based psychological intervention aimed at equipping ASHAs to screen and provide counselling for perinatal depression.
– Task-sharing strategies, where non-specialist providers (NSPs) such as Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), if digitally trained to deliver basic maternal mental health support and counselling, offer a practical solution and help in reaching out to a wider population. Digitizing such training makes it scalable and accessible, allowing ASHAs to learn and extend mental health services at the community level. The Thinking Healthy Programme Peer-delivered (THPP) intervention was converted to a Hindi digital curriculum, supplemented with videos on how to deliver THPP sessions. A list of roleplay videos is added to the course for counselling women with depression during the perinatal period and hosted on a Learning Management System (LMS). Through stakeholder consultations and expert feedback, the concept was made, which would be acceptable to the people in MP.
Results
This digitized training was piloted with 58 ASHAs in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen, Vidisha, and Narmadapuram districts. Some of the ASHAs shared experiences and feedback post-digital training; most reported that the training improved their understanding of maternal mental health and they could relate to the content. They expressed confidence in applying these skills to support and counsel women in their communities, effectively bridging gaps.
Keywords: Perinatal Mental Health; Maternal Depression; Task-Sharing; Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs); Thinking Healthy Program Peer-Delivered (THPP); Digital Training; Learning Management System (LMS); Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs); Community-Based Mental Health Interventions; Madhya Pradesh; Non-Specialist Providers (NSPs); Scalable Mental Health Solutions; Maternal and child care; digital innovation
