The relationship between traumatic childbirth and first-time mothers' social identity and wellbeing: a cross-sectional observational study.

BACKGROUND: Experiencing childbirth as traumatic is common and can have long-lasting negative consequences for women's mental health. However, fostering a sense of social identity has been shown to protect psychological wellbeing and mental health during life transitions, such as entering parenthood. This study therefore investigated the relationship between traumatic childbirth and first-time mothers' social identity and their psychological wellbeing, and more specifically whether strength of identity as a first-time mother protected psychological wellbeing following traumatic childbirth. METHOD: Women over the age of 18 who were living in the UK and had given birth to their first child in the past nine months were recruited to the study from clinical and community settings. They completed digital self-report questionnaires about their birth experience, social identity, mental health, and psychological wellbeing. Women who perceived themselves to have had a traumatic birth (the trauma group; N = 84) were compared to women who did not perceive themselves to have had a traumatic birth (the control group, N = 39). T-tests and chi square tests assessed preliminary group differences before multivariate analyses of covariance controlled for covariates. Post-hoc tests identified the direction of differences. Multiple regression and moderation analyses analysed interaction effects. RESULTS: The trauma group had significantly lower psychological wellbeing (mean = 41.5, 95% CI [39.4-43.7], p = .008, partial η2 = 0.059), compared to the control group (mean = 48.4, 95% CI [45.3-51.5]), but the two groups did not differ in the strength of their first-time mother identity, which was high across both groups. Strength of identity did not moderate the relationship between traumatic childbirth and psychological wellbeing. Giving birth by caesarean section independently reduced the strength of the first-time mother identity (p = .017, partial η2 = 0.049). All analyses controlled for emotional and practical support, perceptions of healthcare staff, and mode of birth. CONCLUSIONS: Having a traumatic birth was associated with lower psychological wellbeing, and the strength of first-time mother identity does not appear to moderate this relationship. Factors such as mode of birth may be more important. Further research, including longitudinal designs, is needed to understand the relationship between these constructs and identify more effective ways of protecting first-time mothers' mental health.

Differences in treatment trajectory following brief paediatric inpatient admissions for children and young people with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about factors associated with treatment trajectory following brief paediatric admissions for children and young people (CYP) admitted for medical complications of their eating disorder (ED). This project aimed to identify possible factors and ways to improve the usefulness of paediatric admissions. METHOD: Retrospective NHS data was analysed to explore differences between paediatric admissions followed by community-based care or inpatient psychiatric care. Twelve parents were interviewed to seek feedback about paediatric admissions. RESULTS: Patients who received subsequent inpatient psychiatric care were unwell for longer, had longer paediatric admissions and more crisis team input, were more likely to have had previous admissions, and had higher parent-reported anxiety and depression. However, the groups did not significantly differ in ED severity. The interviews identified recommendations for improving paediatric admissions, which included improving understanding of EDs, enhancing communication channels, and providing psychological support to parents. CONCLUSIONS: Factors linked with illness severity (but not illness severity itself) appear to be associated with the difference between CYP either returning to community-based care or requiring more intensive psychiatric input. These factors may help clinicians understand who requires subsequent inpatient care, allowing clinicians to target more intensive support earlier and facilitate smoother transitions between services.

Evaluating the effectiveness of a group-based resilience intervention versus psychoeducation for emergency responders in England: A randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Emergency responders are routinely exposed to traumatic critical incidents and other occupational stressors that place them at higher risk of mental ill health compared to the general population. There is some evidence to suggest that resilience training may improve emergency responders' wellbeing and related health outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a tertiary service resilience intervention compared to psychoeducation for improving psychological outcomes among emergency workers. METHODS: We conducted a multicentre, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial. Minim software was used to randomly allocate police, ambulance, fire, and search and rescue services personnel, who were not suffering from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, to Mind's group intervention or to online psychoeducation on a 3:1 basis. The resilience intervention was group-based and included stress management and mindfulness tools for reducing stress. It was delivered by trained staff at nine centres across England in six sessions, one per week for six weeks. The comparison intervention was psychoeducation about stress and mental health delivered online, one module per week for six weeks. Primary outcomes were assessed by self-report and included wellbeing, resilience, self-efficacy, problem-solving, social capital, confidence in managing mental health, and number of days off work due to illness. Follow-up was conducted at three months. Blinding of participants, researchers and outcome assessment was not possible due to the type of interventions. RESULTS: A total of 430 participants (resilience intervention N = 317; psychoeducation N = 113) were randomised and included in intent-to-treat analyses. Linear Mixed-Effects Models did not show a significant difference between the interventions, at either the post-intervention or follow-up time points, on any outcome measure. CONCLUSIONS: The limited success of this intervention is consistent with the wider literature. Future refinements to the intervention may benefit from targeting predictors of resilience and mental ill health. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN79407277.

Preventing PTSD, depression and associated health problems in student paramedics: protocol for PREVENT-PTSD, a randomised controlled trial of supported online cognitive training for resilience versus alternative online training and standard practice.

INTRODUCTION: Emergency workers dedicate their lives to promoting public health and safety, yet suffer higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression (MD) compared with the general population. They also suffer an associated increased risk for physical health problems, which may be linked to specific immunological and endocrine markers or changes in relevant markers. Poor physical and mental health is costly to organisations, the National Health Service and society. Existing interventions aimed at reducing risk of mental ill health in this population are not very successful. More effective preventative interventions are urgently needed. We first conducted a large-scale prospective study of newly recruited student paramedics, identifying two cognitive factors (rumination and resilience appraisals) that predicted episodes of PTSD and MD over a 2-year period. We then developed internet-delivered cognitive training for resilience (iCT-R), a supported online intervention, to modify cognitive predictors. This protocol is for a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the resilience intervention. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: 570 student paramedics will be recruited from participating universities. They will be randomly allocated to iCT-R or to supported online training of an alternative, widely available intervention or to training-as-usual. Follow-up will occur after the intervention/standard practice period and at 6, 12 and 24 months. Primary outcomes include rates of PTSD and MD and subsydnromal PTSD and MD, measured by the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition, the Patient-Health Questionnaire-9 and the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition. Secondary outcomes include measures of resilience, rumination, anxiety, psychological distress, well-being, salivary cortisol, plasma levels of C-reactive protein, smoking and alcohol use, weight gain, sleep problems, health-related quality of life, health resource utilisation and productivity. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Medical Sciences Inter-Divisional Research Ethics Committee at the University of Oxford granted approval, reference: R44116/RE001. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Access to raw data and participant information will be available only to members of the research team. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN16493616; Pre-results.