Primary care screening and risk factors for postnatal depression in Zimbabwe: A scoping review of literature

Abstract

Postnatal depression (PND) exerts a significant burden on the global public health system, globally affecting approximately 10 to 20% of women. Despite the recently reported high prevalence of PND in Zimbabwe, it is rarely diagnosed or appropriately managed in primary care settings. This review scopes evidence on PND from studies on screening for PND and the associated risk factors conducted in Zimbabwe over the past 20 years. We searched electronic databases for published articles and checked reference lists of studies relating to depression among women in Zimbabwe. We used the following key words: postnatal, depression, women, screening, risk-factors, and Zimbabwe. A total of 14 studies were retrieved as follows: postnatal depression (4), postnatal mental disorders (1), mental disorders among pregnant women (1), and depression and women in general (8). Reported prevalence of PND ranged from 16% to 34.2%. Studies on PND enrolled women from urban and peri-urban settings. Significant risk factors for PND identified among women in Zimbabwe included multi parity, having a spouse who was older than 35years, poorer relations with spouses or partners, having had experienced an adverse event, being unemployed, and having had experienced intimate partner violence. Psychosocial factors are implicated in PND occurrence among Zimbabwean women. There is need to explore the burden of PND among rural communities.

Keywords:

• postnatal depression
• review
• Zimbabwe