Study: low-income women more likely to suffer from postpartum ...(ing visits. The visits give mildly to m...),Health

Date:2/19/2008

ing visits." The visits give mildly to moderately depressed mothers an opportunity to talk through problems with a caseworker or nurse. Modeled after the United Kingdom's "health visitors," the intervention allows mothers to work collaboratively with a professional they already know and trust, removing barriers to mental health treatment like cost, waiting lists, stigma or lack of providers, Segre said.

"A listening visitor is not a trained psychologist, but sometimes just having someone take the time to sit down and take a keen interest in what's going on with your life is enough," Segre said. "I'm not saying the listening visits are the cure-all, but for mild to moderate depression, they're a good start. And even if women need more treatment beyond the listening visits, our hope is that the listening visits will serve as an ice-breaker, helping women feel more comfortable with the idea of mental health treatment."

In 2005, a British health visitor came to Iowa to teach Healthy Start staff to conduct listening visits. The staff is making more and more use of the visits, Segre said. "It's a big change from not providing any mental health care, to providing screening and referral, and then to also providing in-home listening visits," she said. "It takes a while to feel comfortable doing that."

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Contact: Nicole Riehl nicole-riehl@uiowa.edu 319-384-0070 University of Iowa Source:Eurekalert

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