On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) Universitas Indonesia (UI) held an open doctoral promotion session in Public Health Sciences for RR. Arum Ariasih, who defended her dissertation titled “Postpartum Depression Prevention Education Strategy for Pregnant Women’s Classes Using an Implementation Science Approach.”
Depression, as a leading cause of disability globally, significantly contributes to the overall disease burden, with the prevalence of depression in women being twice as high as in men. According to WHO reports, approximately one in five women experience depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period (peripartum depression). The risk of postpartum depression is higher for mothers who experience depression during pregnancy.
In Indonesia, the prevalence of depression among mothers has been identified in several studies, showing a very high rate. Despite this, local governments have not provided adequate attention. Although policies and efforts to improve maternal mental health have focused on primary healthcare services, their implementation is still predominantly focused on physical health services. This has resulted in a lack of recognition of postpartum depression issues due to insufficient early detection and low awareness among pregnant women about postpartum depression.
Therefore, RR. Arum Ariasih’s research aimed to explore the strategies for educating pregnant women using an Implementation Science (IS) approach to prevent postpartum depression, as well as the effectiveness of such strategies. Arum developed and integrated an education strategy using IS that was incorporated into pregnant women’s classes to prevent postpartum depression.
The research conducted by RR. Arum Ariasih is an operational study with a mixed-methods exploratory sequential design, aiming to apply the Implementation Science (IS) approach through pregnant women’s classes to prevent postpartum depression. Four phases were carried out: exploration, installation, implementation, and sustainability. The IS approach garnered support from the Health Department, resulting in the creation of SOPs, educational modules, media, educator training, and postpartum depression screening for facilitators of pregnant women’s classes, as well as the delivery of education in pregnant women’s classes and mental health screenings at community health centers.
The results showed that the educational strategy using the IS approach was significantly effective in preventing postpartum depression by improving knowledge scores by 11.27%, behavior by 5.51%, and reducing SRQ scores by 56.14% and EPDS scores by 16.88% from the final trimester of pregnancy to one month postpartum.
“Maternal health is extremely complex, especially during the phases of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum, as it presents extraordinary challenges in both physical and psychological health. The psychological health issues that constantly affect a woman include feelings of loneliness, isolation, helplessness, and even sadness that can arise without any apparent cause. This is what Dr. Arum experienced with her five children, which eventually inspired her to pursue her PhD and research in postpartum depression. The education strategy she developed through the IS approach has proven to be effective and significantly helps prevent postpartum depression,” said Prof. Dr. Besral, S.K.M., M.Sc., her promoter, in his speech.
Also present was Prof. Dr. Dra. Andriyani, M.Ag., M.K.M., Dean of the Faculty of Public Health at the University of Muhammadiyah Jakarta (UMJ) for the 2019-2023 period. “I also advise Ms. Arum that knowledge may be vast, but etiquette must be even higher, because no matter where you are, etiquette is everything. The goal of education at UMJ is to nurture scholars with noble character, and thus, their professors must also have noble character,” said the Dean of FPH UMJ.
Dedi Supratman, SKM, MKM, Chairman of the Indonesian Public Health Association (IAKMI), also congratulated Dr. RR. Arum Ariasih. “It is a great honor for us, as she is one of the active members in one of the most active sectors, namely mental health. We hope the mental health field can become even more active, particularly in engaging with the Ministry of Health of Indonesia.”
At the end of the session, the Chair of the Examining Committee announced the decision that RR. Arum Ariasih, born on October 30, 1979, in Cilacap, successfully passed and was awarded a doctoral degree in Public Health Sciences, becoming the 26th PhD graduate in Public Health Sciences in 2024, the 342nd PhD graduate in Public Health Sciences, and the 414th PhD graduate at FPH UI, achieving summa cum laude with a GPA of 3.95.
The session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Dra. Evi Martha, M.Kes., with Promoter Prof. Dr. Besral, S.K.M., M.Sc., and Co-promoter Prof. Dr. dr. Sudarto Ronoatmodjo, S.K.M., M.Sc. The examination team included Prof. Dr. Dra. Dumilah Ayuningtyas, MARS; Dr. dr. Fidiansjah, Sp.Kj.; Dra. Eunike Sri Tyas S., Ph.D., Psychologist; and dr. Erwinsyah Harahap, Sp.OG (K). (ITM)