Perinatal Mental Health in Primary Health Care: Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, and Learning Needs among Health Professionals in Peru
Hilbert Julio Gómez-Paredes, Natalia Valverde-Espinoza, Luisa Alcarraz Curi, Amadea Huamaní-PalominoAbstract
Context:
Perinatal mental health (PMH) is a key component of maternal care. Early identification and management by primary healthcare professionals are essential to prevent adverse outcomes for mothers, newborns, and their families.
Aims:
To describe the knowledge, attitudes, practices, and learning needs related to PMH among primary healthcare professionals in an Andean province of Peru.
Subjects and Methods:
A cross-sectional, descriptive, observational study was conducted. A self-administered questionnaire was applied to 140 healthcare professionals (physicians, midwives, and nurses). Absolute and relative frequencies were analyzed.
Results:
Eighty percent of participants demonstrated adequate knowledge about perinatal depression; however, only 16.43% of participants identified antidepressants as the first-line treatment. Regarding perinatal anxiety, 83.57% of participants correctly defined the condition, but only 12.86% of participants reported using screening tools. In the past 2 years, 73.57% of participants had not received any training. Only 3% of participants felt fully prepared to manage these disorders.
Conclusions:
Although knowledge and attitudes were mostly appropriate, clinical practices were suboptimal. Strengthening continuous training, ensuring the systematic use of validated screening tools, and effectively integrating mental health into maternal care programs are essential to improve early detection and comprehensive PMH care.