Healthcare systems

Important mental health conditions like depression and anxiety are often neglected among pregnant and post-natal women, and frontline health workers.

To address this, Prof Tolib Mirzoev from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is leading the 'RESPONSE' project, co-designed with local stakeholders. The project has already piloted interventions to improve the way that health systems respond to people experiencing common mental health conditions. So far, these interventions have included screening for mental health issues, follow-on support and referrals - for pregnant and post-natal women in Ghana and Vietnam, and frontline health workers in Ghana.

Patients and health workers responded positively to the interventions, but there is a need to sustain and integrate them into routine antenatal and postnatal care. The 'RESPONSE' project aims to inform holistic maternal mental healthcare and support for health workers in Ghana and Vietnam.

Through a 2-day national conference in Vietnam and a policy dialogue in Ghana, Prof Mirzoev and the group aim to share their analyses of maternal and mental healthcare in the two countries, to advocate for the integration of simple, evidence-based screening and follow-on support among the aforementioned patient groups, and to support key stakeholders in sustaining and extending project experiences through revision of technical guidelines and informing relevant policies and protocols.