Efficacy of a culturally adapted, cognitive behavioural therapy-based intervention for postnatal depression in...

Postnatal depression necessitates timely and effective interventions to mitigate adverse maternal and child outcomes in the short term and over the life course. British south Asian women with depression are often underserved and undertreated due to stigma, language barriers, and cultural barriers. This trial aimed to test the clinical efficacy of a culturally adapted, group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-based intervention, the Positive Health Programme (PHP), delivered by non-specialist health workers for postnatal depression in British south Asian women.

This study was a randomised controlled trial, with culturally adapted recruitment and an internal pilot, comparing the PHP (intervention group) with treatment as usual (control group) in British south Asian women with postnatal depression. The study was conducted at five centres across the UK. Participants were aged 16 years or older, met the DSM-5 criteria for depression, and had infants aged 0-12 months. Randomisation (1:1) was stratified by centre, with a block size of 18, and was done through an independent remote telephone service. The PHP was delivered over 12 group sessions in 4 months. The primary outcome was recovery from depression (defined as a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HDRS] score ≤7) at 4 months after randomisation, and an assessment was also done at 12 months. Analysis was on an intention-to-treat basis including only participants with non-missing outcome data; we used a random-effects logistic regression model including fixed covariates for study site, baseline depression severity (HDRS score), parity, and years in education and a random coefficient for therapy group. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN (ISRCTN10697380).

Of the 9136 individuals approached for recruitment between Feb 8, 2017, and March 29, 2020, 4296 women were eligible for and consented to screening, among whom 732 screened positive and were randomly allocated: 368 (50%) to the PHP group and 364 (50%) to the control group. Participants were mostly of Pakistani (397 [55%] of 719 with available data), Indian (176 [24%]), or Bangladeshi ethnicity (127 [18%]), with an overall mean age of 31·4 years (SD 5·2), with their youngest infants having a mean age of 23·6 weeks (14·2). At 4 months from randomisation, the proportion of participants who showed recovery from depression on the HDRS was significantly higher in the PHP group (138 [49%] of 281) than in the control group (105 [37%] of 281; adjusted odds ratio 1·97 [95% CI 1·26-3·10]). At the 12-month follow-up, this difference was no longer significant (1·02 [95% CI 0·62-1·66]).

In British south Asian women with postnatal depression, a culturally adapted group CBT-based intervention could aid in quicker recovery from depression compared with treatment as usual. Further research is needed to identify how to sustain the treatment effect and establish strategies for scale-up.

UK National Institute for Health and Care Research.