TITLE:
Approach to perinatal mental health and child abuse prevention in Japanese prefectural health centers
AUTHORS:
Kafumi Sugishita, Kayoko Kurihara, Shiho Murayama, Kiyoko Kamibeppu
KEYWORDS:
Child Abuse Prevention; Perinatal Mental Health; Prefectural Health Centers; Municipal Health Centers
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.5 No.4,
April
19,
2013
ABSTRACT:
The aim of this
study was to conduct a nationwide survey in Japan of prefectural health centers,
which were responsible for providing guidance to municipalities. The survey
was performed in order to clarify the following issues: 1) the current level
of support provided by prefectural centers for pre-and post-natal mental
health; 2) the structures in place for providing consultation services for an
“unwanted pregnancy” and the support available for high-risk cases; and 3)
the advice available on postpartum maternal psychological screening, and interpretation
of results of such screening. Questionnaires were sent by post to 394 prefectural
health centers, of which 277 (70.3%) responded. A total of 32% of prefectural
health centers confirmed that they had offered support to high-risk cases
during pregnancy, and 72% had offered support post-partum. Regarding offering
support to high-risk mothers, those prefectural
health centers that did provide consultation services (n = 59) reported
providing introductions and information about available facilities (P