Improving knowledge, attitudes and beliefs: a cross-sectional study of postpartum depression awareness among social support networks during COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most prevalent mental health disorder after childbirth, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, PPD is known to have a long-term influence on the mother and the newborn, and the role of social support network is crucial in early illness recognition. This study aims to evaluate the social support networks' level of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding PPD and examine their sociodemographic variables and exposure to the public information relating to PPD during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted via an online Google Form disseminated to people in Klang Valley through WhatsApp, Email, Facebook, Instagram and other available social media among postpartum women's social support networks aged 18 years and living in the Klang Valley area (N = 394). Data were collected from 1 March to 5 July 2021 and analysed using the Mann-Whitney U-test and generalised linear mixed models. RESULTS: During the COVID-19 epidemic in Klang Valley, most participants had good knowledge, negative attitudes and awareness of PPD. Marital status, gender and parity all had significant correlations with the amount of awareness regarding PPD. Ethnicity, gender, parity and educational level showed significant association with attitude towards PPD. No significant relationship was noted between sociodemographic variables and PPD beliefs. Public awareness of PPD was also associated with knowledge and attitude towards it. CONCLUSIONS: A significant positive knowledge, negative attitude and negative awareness level of PPD exist among social support networks for postnatal women. However, no significant effect of belief on PPD awareness level was noted. IMPLICATIONS: Insight campaigns and public education about PPD should be conducted to enhance postnatal mothers' awareness and knowledge. Postnatal care, mental check-ups and counselling sessions for the new mothers are recommended. In future studies, a closer assessment of postpartum social support, variances and similarities across women from diverse racial/ethnic origins is critical. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: This cross-sectional study is one of the early studies on the area of PPD in the Malaysian region during COVID-19. Numerous data have been collected using low-cost approaches using self-administered surveys through Google Forms in this research.

Precarious Employment and Chronic Stress: Do Social Support Networks Matter?

Precarious employment has been identified as a potentially damaging stressor. Conversely, social support networks have a well-known protective effect on health and well-being. The ways in which precariousness and social support may interact have scarcely been studied with respect to either perceived stress or objective stress biomarkers. This research aims to fill this gap by means of a cross-sectional study based on a non-probability quota sample of 250 workers aged 25-60 in Barcelona, Spain. Fieldwork was carried out between May 2019 and January 2020. Employment precariousness, perceived social support and stress levels were measured by means of scales, while individual steroid profiles capturing the chronic stress suffered over a period of a month were obtained from hair samples using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry methodology. As for perceived stress, analysis indicates that a reverse buffering effect exists (interaction B = 0.22, p = 0.014). Steroid biomarkers are unrelated to social support, while association with precariousness is weak and only reaches significance at p < 0.05 in the case of women and 20ß dihydrocortisone metabolites. These results suggest that social support can have negative effects on the relationship between perceived health and an emerging stressful condition like precariousness, while its association with physiological measures of stress remains uncertain.

Impact of COVID-19 on Peer Support Specialists in the United States: Findings From a Cross-Sectional Online Survey.

OBJECTIVE: Peer support specialists (PSS) are an integral part of the mental health workforce. The purpose of this study was to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their employment status and day-to-day work. METHODS: A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted (May-June 2020). Recruitment occurred through the National Association of Peer Specialists and additional snowball sampling. Closed- and open-ended questions sought information about employment status, work tasks, challenges faced by PSS and by individuals they supported, and positive impacts they experienced. RESULTS: A total of 1,280 surveys were analyzed. Nine percent of respondents reported having lost their job as a result of COVID-19. Of these, 65% reported a length of employment of 2 or more years, and 61% reported working 35 hours or less per week. Job tasks changed dramatically, with 73% reporting engagement in new tasks, including increased reliance on technology (N=717), increased coordination of resources (N=123), and COVID-19-related tasks (N=142). Engagement in some support tasks decreased significantly from prepandemic levels, including individual support provision (p<0.001) and group facilitation (p<0.001). Respondents reported significant challenges among individuals they supported, including increased isolation (92%), substance use (67%), housing instability (38%), and food insecurity (64%). Although respondents also reported challenges, satisfaction with organizational and supervisory support was high. Most respondents (73%) reported positive impacts or benefits from the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The changing roles and tasks identified in this study have implications for hiring, training, supervising, and supporting peer staff. The peer workforce demonstrated flexibility and commitment to meeting increasing needs.