Making a Case for use of Digital Interventions to Manage Adolescent Perinatal Depression in Nigeria | Biomedgrid

Nigeria has a fast-growing young population, and almost 43% of her 200 million people are aged between 0 and 14 years. The national fertility rate for girls age 15-19 years is 122 per thousand birth [1] and like much of the region, adolescent pregnancy is a pressing public health issue in the country. In general, adolescents face several psychological, social and financial challenges in the perinatal period irrespective of if their pregnancies are planned, or unplanned. As such, perinatal depression is higher in this age group than among older pregnant women. African countries have a large treatment gap for mental disorders. In Nigeria due to insufficient manpower, maternal and child health care services in primary care is delivered by non-specialists through a process of task shifting [2]. The World Health Organization (WHO) Mental Health Gap Action Plan program is one of the evidenced-based care initiatives to support the delivery of care for common mental disorders in low resource settings through task shifting. The mhGAP-IG has been adapted to the Nigerian context and adopted for use in primary care by the Nigerian National Council of health in August 2013. However despite the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions when delivered by non-specialists in the treatment of perinatal depression, adolescence distinct developmental related challenges, self-stigma (shame relating to getting pregnant at a young age), public stigma (from health care providers and others in the community) are factors that often limit the use of available health care facilities by perinatal adolescents. Effective, flexible, and convenient to access Interventions are urgently needed to address the health care needs of pregnant adolescents to reduce mental health morbidity in this population.