Telephone interpersonal psychotherapy delivered by nurses for postpartum depression

Abstract

This chapter recounts a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that evaluated interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for postpartum depression (PPD) delivered over the telephone by nurses. It considers telephone delivery as an underutilized format that has demonstrated depression treatment efficacy. It also looks at telephone IPT studies that have shown promising results, such as an RCT on the delivery and adaptation of IPT by nonspecialist health workers over the telephone. The chapter describes nurse-delivered telephone-IPT as an effective treatment for diverse urban and rural postpartum women with clinical depression. It points out how nurse-delivered telephone-IPT improved PPD, anxiety, and partner relationship quality at 12 weeks' postrandomization.