The Impact of Creative Interventions on Symptoms of Postnatal Depression (Cohort Study)

Post-natal depression (PND) is anticipated to affect 12.9% of new mothers with at least 75,000 cases per year in the UK alone. However, despite this, there is currently a worrying lack of support for new mothers, with data suggesting that 64% of healthcare trusts in the UK do not have a strategy for treating PND, and flaws in the current pharmacological and psychological treatment models. Consequently, research into promising psychosocial interventions such as music is critical to developing new paradigms for treating PND.

This project is an ambitious programme of research that investigates links between the mental health of women in the later stages of pregnancy and first 9 months post birth and their use of psychosocial interventions including music.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depression, Postpartum

Detailed Description

The study uses an online questionnaire to achieve a cross-sectional view of the mental health of women across England in the final stages of pregnancy and the first 9 months post birth, how much and in what ways music is used by these women, and whether there are any associations between music and mental health. The study aims to recruit between 1,000 and 5,000 women to take the anonymous questionnaire. However, women who complete the questionnaire while still pregnant will be invited to complete three further questionnaires shortly post-birth and 3 months later to gather longitudinal data to analyse change across pregnancy into post-birth (aiming for 500 of the 1,000 undertaking this repeated measurement).

Phase A of the study will be open to NHS sites around England to take part.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 2558

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • London, United Kingdom, SW7 2BS
    • Centre for Performance Science, Royal College of Music

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Women in the final 3 months of pregnancy or the first 9 months post-birth

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Women who are more than 28 weeks pregnant OR up to 9 months post-birth

Exclusion Criteria:

• Outside the limits of the number of weeks pregnant/post birth
• Living outside England
• Refusal to participate

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Pregnancy women and new mothers; The study tracks what interventions women are already registered in and compares these with their mental wellbeing.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Depression	Measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale	Retrospective measure since the date of completion of the previous questionnaire

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mental wellbeing	Measured using the short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale	Retrospective measure since the date of completion of the previous questionnaire
Social functioning	Measured using the Social Provisions Scale	Retrospective measure since the date of completion of the previous questionnaire
Self-esteem	Measured using the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale	Retrospective measure since the date of completion of the previous questionnaire
Further questions assessing health and wellbeing including perceived health, health service utilisation, mother-infant bond and creative participation	A range of self-report questions	Retrospective measure since the date of completion of the previous questionnaire

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Royal College of Music
• Collaborators: Imperial College London
• Investigators: Study Chair: Aaron Williamon, PhD, Royal College of Music / Imperial College London

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 19, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 31, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): January 31, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 14, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 14, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): August 18, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 13, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 12, 2017
• Last Verified: April 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: depression; music; mental wellbeing; alternative therapies; motherhood
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Mood Disorders; Pregnancy Complications; Puerperal Disorders; Depression; Depressive Disorder; Depression, Postpartum
• Other Study ID Numbers: SATB2015b