Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Oct 4, 2024
Date Accepted: Jul 2, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
A structured method for psychosocial assessment in maternal healthcare in Sweden: study protocol, implementation and planned evaluation
ABSTRACT
Background:
Onset of depression and anxiety can occur before, during or after pregnancy, and ongoing conditions can either improve or deteriorate at all stages. Early identification and treatment of perinatal mental ill-health can reduce rates of depression and other mental ill-health conditions postpartum. National and international guidelines recommend that maternal healthcare contribute to improving pregnant women’s mental health by consistently asking pertinent questions during pregnancy and offering necessary support and care.
Objective:
The general aim of this research project is to investigate the effects of the implementation of a structured method for psychosocial assessment during pregnancy, as well as evaluating midwives´ experiences of working with the method.
Methods:
The structured method will be evaluated, and possible effects will be investigated through comparison of the periods before and after implementation. Data sources for the study are questionnaire responses, medical records, Swedish Pregnancy Register data and interviews with midwives
Results:
Part of the recruitment process and data collection is ongoing. Dissemination plan includes several publications of original research and two doctoral theses.
Conclusions:
This study's results are expected to be highly relevant for maternal healthcare, both nationally and internationally. The structured method and evaluation of the implementation could serve as a model for more standardized and effective care. If successful, it may influence national policies and attract global attention as a model for improving maternity care.
Citation
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.