Abstract
Support groups can help individuals cope with difficult health situations but have been understudied for women with perinatal bereavement. An early study suggested those using internet support groups had high rates of positive depression screens, raising the question whether these users were more symptomatic than those in similar face-to-face support groups. We therefore conducted two convenience sample surveys of women bereaved by perinatal loss, one looking at use of online support groups and the other in-person support groups. The surveys identified demographics, use of peer support, potential confounders, and current depression symptoms using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Four hundred sixteen women from 18 internet groups and 60 women from 13 in-person groups met inclusion criteria. Participants in both groups were predominantly Caucasian, highly educated, and had private insurance. Severe depression symptoms were similar in the two groups despite the different modalities. Women in both face-to-face or internet groups for pregnancy and perinatal loss demonstrated similar scores on depression screens. Women of color, poor, and less-educated women were starkly underrepresented in both types of groups, raising questions about knowledge of support options, barriers to use, preferences for bereavement support, and optimization of groups for a broader population.
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During the period the studies were conducted, Dr. Gold received salary support from a National Institute of Mental Health K-23 and a National Institute of Health Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health K-12. Neither funder had a role in design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, or review. No author has financial or other conflict of interest to declare.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Gold, K.J., Normandin, M.M. & Boggs, M.E. Are participants in face-to-face and internet support groups the same? Comparison of demographics and depression levels among women bereaved by stillbirth. Arch Womens Ment Health 19, 1073–1078 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0657-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0657-x