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Public health
Protocol
A cluster randomised controlled trial of a brief couple-focused psychoeducational intervention to prevent common postnatal mental disorders among women: study protocol
  1. Heather Rowe1,
  2. Karen Wynter1,
  3. Paula Lorgelly2,
  4. Lisa H Amir3,
  5. Sanjeeva Ranasinha4,
  6. Jenny Proimos5,
  7. Warren Cann6,
  8. Harriet Hiscock7,
  9. Jordana Bayer8,
  10. Joanna Burns1,
  11. Jemimah Ride2,
  12. Irene Bobevski1,
  13. Jane Fisher1
  1. 1Jean Hailes Research Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  2. 2Faculty of Business and Economics, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
  3. 3Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  4. 4Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
  5. 5Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  6. 6Parenting Research Centre, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  7. 7Centre for Community Child Health, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  8. 8School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Dr Heather Rowe; heather.rowe{at}mnash.edu

Abstract

Introduction Postnatal common mental disorders among women are an important public health problem internationally. Interventions to prevent postnatal depression have had limited success. What Were We Thinking (WWWT) is a structured, gender-informed, psychoeducational group programme for parents and their first infant that addresses two modifiable risks to postnatal mental health. This paper describes the protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial to test the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of WWWT when implemented in usual primary care.

Methods and analysis 48 maternal and child health (MCH) centres from six diverse Local Government Areas, in Victoria, Australia are randomly allocated to the intervention group (usual care plus WWWT) or the control group (usual care). The required sample size is 184 women in each group. English-speaking primiparous women receiving postpartum healthcare in participating MCH centres complete two computer-assisted telephone interviews: baseline at 4 weeks and outcome at 6 months postpartum. Women attending intervention MCH centres are invited to attend WWWT in addition to usual care. The primary outcome is meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV (DSM-IV) diagnostic criteria for major depressive episode; generalised anxiety disorder; panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, agoraphobia with or without panic, social phobia, adult separation anxiety or adjustment disorder with depressed mood, anxiety or mixed depressed mood and anxiety within the past 30 days at 6 months postpartum. Secondary outcomes are self-rated general and emotional health, infant sleep problems, method of infant feeding, quality of mother–infant relationship and intimate partner relationship, and healthcare costs and outcomes.

Ethics and dissemination Approval to conduct the study has been granted. A comprehensive dissemination plan has been devised.

Trial registration number Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12613000506796.

UTN U1111-1125-8208.

  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • PRIMARY CARE
  • PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
  • PUBLIC HEALTH

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006436

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