PERSPECTIVE: Implications of Recent Health Policies for Women's Reproductive Mental Health

The economic cost of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) is high and includes the cost of reduced maternal economic productivity, more preterm births, and increases in other maternal mental health expenditures. PMADs also substantially contribute the cost of maternal morbidity. This paper offers a discussion of the quality-of-care cascade model of PMADs, which outlines care pathways that people typically face as well as gaps and unmet needs that frequently happen along the way. The model uses the US health system as an example. A discussion of international implications follows.

The quality-of-care cascade model outlines downward dips in quality of care along the perinatal mental health treatment continuum, including access (many Americans do not have access to affordable health insurance), enrollment (even when individuals are offered health insurance, some do not enroll), coverage (even if individuals have health insurance, some needed services or providers may not be covered), choice (even if services and providers are covered, patients may not be able to choose among plans, institutions, or clinicians), consistency (even if patients have a choice of plan or provider, a consistent source of care may not be accessible), referral (even if care is available and accessible, referral services may not be), quality (even if patients have access to both care and referral services, there may be gaps in the quality of care provided), adherence (even if patients receive high-quality care, they may not be adherent to treatment), barriers (societal forces that may influence people's choices and behaviors), and shocks (unanticipated events that could disrupt care pathways). In describing the quality-of-care cascade model, this paper uses the US healthcare system as the primary example. However, the model can extend to examine quality-of-care dips along the perinatal mental health treatment continuum within the international context. Although the US healthcare system may differ from other healthcare systems in many respects, shared commonalities lead to quality-of-care dips in countries with healthcare systems structured differently than in the US.

The global cost of PMADs remains substantial, and addressing the costs of these conditions could have a significant impact on overall cost and quality of care internationally. The quality-of-care cascade model presented in this paper could help identify, understand, and address the complex contributing factors that lead to dips in quality-of-care for perinatal mental health conditions across the world.