Addressing Perinatal Depression and PMTCT Adherence in Malawi: A Couple-Based Approach

Although prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services are widely available, 140,000 infants contracted HIV in 2021 and the majority were in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Urgent attention is needed to address poor engagement in PMTCT care with more than half of mothers disengaged from care by six months postpartum. Perinatal depression (PD) is a robust predictor of poor engagement in HIV care and suboptimal PMTCT adherence-defined as adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), infant prophylaxis and testing, and exclusive breastfeeding. Few PD interventions have been developed to address PMTCT in SSA and none have involved male partners, who are often major sources of financial and emotional support. Nor have interventions targeted the couple dynamics that can influence the mother's experience of PD and ability to access PMTCT. This project aims to fill this gap by developing and evaluating a problem-solving therapy (PST) intervention with perinatal women and their male partners to reduce PD symptoms and improve adherence to PMTCT in Malawi.

Pregnancy and postpartum are challenging times for couples with the stress of a new child, rising food expenses and nutritional demands, potential for couple conflict with new stressors, and less opportunity for connection and intimacy-all of which are amplified in the presence of PD. Among perinatal women with HIV in Kenya, investigators found that women's mental health and adherence to PMTCT was worsened by intimate partner violence (IPV) but positively affected by social support from partners, including food support during pregnancy and the breastfeeding period. In Malawi, investigators found that women in higher functioning relationships (e.g., better intimacy, communication) reported lower levels of depression, whereas women who reported IPV had higher rates of depression. Together, this suggests that dyadic processes such as support, conflict, and communication are central for women's experience of depression and for PMTCT. However, most PD interventions have focused on women alone rather than the dyad, which may explain why half of women treated for PD have reoccurring symptoms.

In this study, the investigators propose a couple-based intervention to strengthen couple relationships and support for partners to work together around depression, food insecurity, and PMTCT. Because food insecurity was the most significant problem for women with PD in the formative work, the investigators believe interventions will be most effective if couples can also engage in problem-solving around nutrition, meal preparation, and access to food.

The investigators propose to build on the World Health Organization (WHO) Problem Management Plus (PM+) intervention, which is based on problem-solving therapy (PST) and is effective at reducing depressive symptoms with individuals. PM+ has been adapted for the Malawi context and is currently undergoing an implementation evaluation. The investigators will adapt PM+ for couples with the goal of engaging partners to provide social support for PD, helping women brainstorm and solve problems around PD, food insecurity, and PMTCT adherence, and improving couple communication skills to help couples talk constructively about depression, nutrition and other needs, relationship challenges, and adherence to PMTCT.