Evaluation of the effectiveness of a video-based educational intervention on perinatal mental health related stigma reduction strategies for healthcare professionals: A single group pre-test-post-test pilot study

Background: Healthcare professionals have a role to play in reducing perinatal mental health related stigma. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of a video-based educational intervention developed to provide guidance to healthcare professionals on perinatal mental health related stigma reduction strategies. Design: A single group pre-test-post-test pilot study with no control group. Setting(s): A university affiliated maternity hospital in Ireland Participants: A convenience sample of registered midwives, nurses and doctors (n = 60) recruited from October 2020-January 2021. Intervention: A twenty-minute video-based educational intervention. Methods: Respondents (n = 60) completed a pre-test (time point one) and post-test (time point-two) questionnaire, and a three-month follow-up post-test questionnaire (time point-three) (n = 39). The questionnaire included the Mental Illness Clinicians’ Attitudes Scale, Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale, Reynolds Empathy Scale and open-ended questions. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was selected to evaluate the pre-test post-test scores. Results: The difference in mean Mental Illness: Clinicians’ Attitudes-4 scores were statistically significant between time points one and three (z = 3.27, df=36, P = 0.0007) suggesting more positive attitudes towards people with mental health conditions after the intervention. The mean total score for the Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale increased from 18.7 (SD 1.87) at time point one to 19.2 (SD 1.60) at time point two (z= -3.368, df=59, P = 0.0004) suggesting an increase in positive intended behaviours towards those with mental health issues immediately following the intervention. These findings were also corroborated by responses to open-ended survey questions. Conclusions: Further research with a larger sample of healthcare professionals evaluated over a longer period would provide further evidence for the sustainability of the intervention. Tweetable Abstract: : A video-based intervention can increase healthcare professionals’ knowledge of perinatal #mentalhealth related stigma reduction strategies @Journal. Link to article