Rurality as a predictor of perinatal mental health and well-being in an Australian cohort.
Megan Galbally, Stuart J Watson, Mathew Coleman and 4 others
PMID 36251362WHAT IT FOUND
Depression prevalence did not differ by rurality, but women in regional centres had higher parenting stress and remote women reported less access to parent-infant activities.
Key findings
01The overall prevalence of diagnosed depressive disorder was 17.9% and did not vary by remoteness group.
02Parenting stress increased significantly across the postpartum, depression predicted higher stress, and average stress was significantly higher in MM2-MM3 than MM1.
03Women in MM4-MM7 reported less ease of access to early learning activities, such as parent-infant dance, parent-infant swimming and baby-gym, than women in MM1 and MM2-MM3.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study did not measure access to mental health services or perceived isolation, so it cannot explain the observed access differences. The most remote group had few women, so findings for remote communities are less stable. The sample was mostly from Oceanic and European backgrounds, so the results may not apply to culturally diverse, First Nations or single-parent rural families. Exercise was self-reported recreational exercise and may miss incidental activity, such as farm work, in rural women. The measures were validated in Australian pregnant women, but not necessarily in rural samples.
Declared interests
The study was supported by a Beyondblue research grant and an NHMRC project grant. The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that rural women have more depression. The overall prevalence of diagnosed depressive disorder was 17.9% and did not vary by region. The rural differences were in parenting stress and access to parent-infant activities, and this observational study cannot show cause.