Evaluating the Impact of a Novel Peer-to-Peer Educational Modality on Knowledge and Attitudes About Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders

This study assessed whether the use of a peer-to-peer educational book, written and illustrated by women who experienced common mental disorders (CMDs) in the perinatal period, can positively impact women's knowledge and attitudes about these conditions.

This one-group pretest/posttest survey assessed participants' knowledge and attitudes regarding CMDs immediately before and after reading INSPIRE: Stories of Motherhood. The book is composed of women's stories and artwork about their own experiences with parenthood, with an emphasis on the challenges of parenthood and depictions of CMDs, depression and anxiety, during the peripartum period. Study participants were recruited at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Obstetrics and Gynecology ambulatory care office in New Brunswick, NJ and participated while waiting for their appointments. Our voluntary study population included English-speaking females over age 18.

Primary outcomes measured were knowledge and attitudes about CMDs. Measures included individual Likert scale items and composite "stigma scores." 325 adult women were approached and 251 agreed to participate (response rate 77%). 181 of the participants completed all of the items in the pre- and posttest surveys. Results suggested increased knowledge and more positive attitudes after the intervention, corresponding to a decrease in stigma between the pre- and posttest surveys. The mean difference in stigma score on the 5pt Likert scale was 1.5 (95%CI .9 to 2.1, p < .0001), and on the 3pt Likert scale was 0.9 (95%CI .3 to 1.5, p = .0028).

The study suggests that resources that highlight lived experiences with peripartum CMDs as told by women themselves may be a useful educational tool. In this study, the book INSPIRE: Stories of Motherhood, told and illustrated by women who have experienced CMDs, increased participants' knowledge and resulted in more positive attitudes about these disorders.