Voices and lived experiences of perinatal women recovering from mental illness and informal caregivers regarding quality of maternal mental health care in south western Uganda
Qualitative study reveals significant gaps in maternal mental healthcare quality among perinatal women and caregivers, highlighting the need for integrated routine maternity services.
Key Points
To explore the quality of maternal mental health care through the lived experiences of women recovering from maternal mental illness and their informal family caregivers.
Phenomenological qualitative study conducted between November 2022 and February 2023 at two regional referral hospitals in southwestern Uganda.
Purposive sampling recruited 19 participants (recovering perinatal women aged 23–37 years and family caregivers aged 28–65 years) for in-depth interviews.
Data collection proceeded until thematic saturation, followed by manual thematic analysis utilizing a hybrid coding approach.
Identified five interrelated themes: perceived illness causes, clinical presentation and care experiences, challenges and recommendations, community stigma, and family support dynamics.
Recovery and service satisfaction were predominantly linked to specialized hospital mental health units, which were often accessed only via self-referral after maternity discharge.
Perceptions of care quality were compromised by weak health-system responsiveness, medication stockouts, and widespread sociocultural stigma.