Black African Newcomer Women’s Perception of Postpartum Mental Health Services in Canada

Study Background The stress of immigrating, settling into Canada, and being a new mother, may place newcomer women at risk of mental health challenges. However, little is known on Black African newcomer women’s perspectives of postpartum mental health care after experiencing childbirth in Canada. Purpose To explore sociocultural factors that impact Black African newcomer women’s perception of mental health and mental health service utilization within a year after childbirth in Canada. Methods This qualitative study, set in Southern Ontario, purposively sampled 10 African newcomer women who birthed a baby in Canada within the past year. Open-ended, semistructured interviews were conducted individually, transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Black African newcomer women rely on mental strength, nonmedical treatment preferences, spirituality, and spousal support for fostering postpartum mental health. Furthermore, cultural beliefs, racial discrimination, and temporary immigration status impact their decision making around postpartum mental health services utilization. Conclusion Our findings suggest that Black African newcomer women use mental strength to minimize maternal mental illness. Also, the spouses of Black African newcomer women are crucial in their postpartum mental health support. There is an urgent need for culturally safe interventions to meet the postpartum mental health needs of Black African newcomer mothers.

Hypnosis and Sexual Arousal: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT Background: Marriage problems that often arise often begin with sexual problems. Sexuality is not always focused on coital activity which includes cycles of desire, excitement, orgasm, and resolution but it is also related to non coital activity. Sexual satisfaction refers to a person’s pleasant feelings of the type of sexual relationship that forms an important part of the impression of one partner with another which in turn maintains their marriage. 75 percent of all women and 50 percent of all men have experienced sexual difficulties. Sexual dysfunction occurs in almost half of marriages and in about 75 percent of couples who need therapy or assistance in marital problems. This study aimed to analyze the effect of hypnosis in patients with sexual dysfunction. Subjects and Method: This was a meta-analysis and systematic review. The articles were obtained from Pubmed, Science Direct, Springer Link, and Google Scholar electronic databases. Keywords to search articles were “non-medical therapy”, “nonmedical treatment”, “randomized control trial”, “sexual disorder”, “sexual function”, and “sexual satisfaction”. The articles studied were full text articles with observational study design. The articles were collected using PRISMA diagrams and analyzed using the Review Manager 5.3. Results: Hypnosis increased sexual arousal by 2.16 times compared to not providing the therapy (OR= 2.16; 95% CI = 1.76 to 2.56; p<0.001). Conclusion: Hypnosis increases sexual arousal. Keywords: Hypnosis, sexual arousal, meta analysis Correspondence: Ratna Dewi Kumalasari. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret. Email: [email protected]. Mobile: (+62) 81330542623. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/the7thicph.05.41

Lay Beliefs about Treatments for People with Mental Illness and Their Implications for Antistigma Strategies

Objective: First, to describe factors influencing the public's attitude toward treatment recommendations for people with mental illness; second, to identify coherent belief systems about the helpfulness of specific interventions; and third, to discuss how to ameliorate mental health literacy and antistigma strategies. Method: Participants of a representative telephone survey in the general population ( n = 1737) were presented with a vignette depicting a person with either schizophrenia or depression. From a list of suggestions, they were asked to recommend treatments for this person. We used a factor analysis to group these proposals and used the factors as the dependent variables in a multiple regression analysis. Results: Treatment suggestions are summarized in 4 groups, each characterizing a specific therapeutic approach: 1) psychopharmacological proposals (that is, psychotropic drugs), 2) therapeutic counselling (from a psychologist or psychiatrist or psychotherapy), 3) alternative suggestions (such as homeopathy), and 4) social advice (for example, from a social worker). Medical treatments were proposed by people who had a higher education, who had a positive attitude toward psychopharmacology, who correctly recognized the person depicted in the vignette as being ill, who were presented with the schizophrenia vignette, who kept social distance, and who had contact with mentally ill people. The variables could explain alternative and social treatment proposals only to a small extent. Conclusions: The public's beliefs about treatment for people with mental illness are organized into 4 coherent systems, 2 of which involve evidence-based treatments. Medical treatment proposals are influenced by adequate mental health literacy; however, they are also linked to more social distance toward people with mental illness. Additionally, efforts to better explain nonmedical treatment suggestions are needed. Implications for further antistigma strategies are discussed.