Researchers publish results of largest ever study on postnatal depression in British South Asian mothers

An extensive trial into postnatal depression in South Asian women has found that tailored support can make a difference to their recovery. 

ROSHNI-2 is the largest study of its kind ever conducted. It recruited 4,000 women across the UK, including Leicester to compare a talking treatment for postnatal depression developed specifically for British South Asian women, called the ‘Positive Health Programme’, to usual treatment provided by a GP. The aim was to find out if the group talking treatment worked and if it provided value for money. 

The results have now been published in The Lancet.

Currently, British South Asian women are the largest ethnic minority group in the UK and are statistically more likely to experience mental health issues. However, they present to mental health services at a considerably lower rate than white women.  

The reasons for this are complex and include factors such as family engagement, language barriers, cultural perceptions of mental health and a lack of culturally sensitive services. To help overcome these barriers, the ROSNHI-2 study pioneered a culturally adapted model of recruiting, engaging and retaining research participants. 

Researchers from the University of Leicester, alongside other higher education institutions and NHS Trusts, Mersey Care and Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCft), found that more women in the Positive Health Programme group recovered quicker and significantly, compared to the treatment-as-usual group. 

By 12 months, the women in the Positive Health Programme group continued to stay well, but by that time the women in the usual treatment group also recovered.

The results should help develop future care in this group of women, typically seen as a ‘hard to reach’ cohort and recommendations have already been made to health care policy makers to ensure culturally sensitive treatment options are available for British South Asian women who experience postnatal depression.

Farah Lunat, Research Operations Manager for LSCft and joint-lead author of the study, said: “British South Asian women represent a significant population in the UK, and we know they are at a higher risk of postpartum depression, yet there has not, to our knowledge, been any other large-scale research into how we can better support them. This has to change and ROSHNI-2, signals the start of this change.

“Perhaps even more significant than the positive mental health outcomes of this research, the ROSHNI-2 trial has proven that inclusive research is possible.

“Ethnic minority communities that are so often labelled as “hard to reach” are, in fact, ‘easy to ignore’. There is a need for a shift in attitudes amongst healthcare professionals, academics and service providers – ROSHNI-2 has proved that a culturally inclusive approach to research does work and has huge potential benefits to improving access to healthcare for underrepresented communities.” 

Psychiatry Professor Terry Brugha from the University of Leicester’s Department of Population health Sciences, is among those who conducted the study, which was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

He added: “Perinatal depression research began in Leicester with the support of the University and our NHS maternity services in the mid-1980s. The results of this trial are enormously encouraging particularly for our often overlooked South Asian communities but also for all our communities. 

“The finding that the significant trial benefits were of short rather than of longer-term benefit is being addressed in current work here at the University of Leicester. Here we are examining long term postnatal depression trajectories using advanced statistical modelling methods on data we previously collected in the mid-2000s in our region of England.”