Effects of a psycho-educational randomized trial on perinatal depression intervention in Taiwan – comparing the effects of implementation by various methods

Background: Previous studies displayed the effectiveness of group psychoeducation in decreasing depressive symptoms. However, few controlled studies have included personal care and compared the effectiveness in utilizing the same psychoeducational materials but implemented by various methods, especially among perinatal women with high depression prevalence. In this randomized controlled trial, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of an individual psychoeducational program, including personal care and comparisons of various implementation methods (different cost/resources demand) for perinatal women. Methods: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used for depression screening for perinatal women during their clinic visits in 2012. Women with high level of depression were invited and randomly assigned to one of the four intervention groups of “psycho-education by psychologists,” “psycho-education by multimedia film,” “psycho-education by trained staff,” and “regular care comparison group” (about 40 women in each group). These women were followed-up 2-4 weeks and 6-8 weeks after the end of the intervention. Longitudinal data analyses were performed. Results: We found significant decreasing trends on depression scores along time for women in the three intervention groups (all p<0.01), but not those in the “regular care comparison group.” Compared to women in the comparison group, those in the “psycho-education by psychologists” significantly decreased depression score for 1.86 points (95%CI=(-3.58,-0.13)). No statistically significant finding was observed for the effects of depression amendment among the three intervention groups. Conclusions: The individual psychoeducational intervention was effective. Due to the lack of significant differences among interventions implemented by various methods, suggestions for future large-scale implementation are commented.