Effect of behavioral activation for women with postnatal depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Files
(Published version)
Date
2024
Authors
Yisma, E.
Walsh, S.
Steen, M.
Gray, R.
Dennis, S.
Gillam, M.
Parange, N.
Jones, M.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Nursing Reports, 2024; 14(1):78-88
Statement of Responsibility
Conference Name
Abstract
Evidence shows that behavioral activation (BA), a simple form of psychological therapy, is as effective as the more complex psychological therapy—cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)—intreating general depression. However, it remains unclear whether BA when compared with treatment as-usual (TAU) has greater contributions in reducing postnatal depression. This systematic review compared the effect of BA versus TAU in reducing depression symptoms among postnatal women. Five databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Emcare, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO) were searched. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s ‘risk-of-bias 2 tool’. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effect of BA on postnatal depression. Of 2844 initial studies, only two randomized control trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria. The overall quality of evidence of these two RCTs was low. When compared to TAU, meta-analysis showed that BA was associated with reduced depression symptoms in postnatal women (standard mean difference −0.56;95% confidence interval −0.76 to −0.37). This review suggests that BA might be more effective than TAU for alleviating postnatal depression. However, due to concerns about evidence quality, these findings should be interpreted cautiously.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Data source: Supplementary data, https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep14010007
Access Status
Rights
Copyright 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)