Prescriptions for psychiatric medications in the perinatal period

Description

There is growing pressure on women to live “cleanly” during and after pregnancy (the perinatal period), including stopping smoking, drinking alcohol, and eating certain foods. While there are benefits of positive lifestyle changes, some women have concerns about continuing or starting new medications and any possible harm they may cause. Medications are an important treatment option for mental health conditions and women and healthcare professionals should work together to make treatment decisions they are both happy with. These conversations need to be supported by clear, up-to-date, evidence that reflects current society. The student will review existing evidence on prescribing decision-making during the perinatal period to better understand challenges and opportunities. They will then use routinely collected data to identify perinatal women who continue, stop, or start medications for mental health conditions. The relationship between mental health prescriptions, social factors (e.g., ethnicity, deprivation), and outcomes for mothers and babies will also be explored. The student will analyse anonymous data that has already been collected in routine electronic records. They will access the data in a secure environment that includes health and social care data for people in Northwest England. This research will provide important evidence to shape policies that will promote safe use of medications in the perinatal period and improve perinatal mental health care. The student will work with healthcare professionals and parents with lived experience of mental health conditions to distil key findings and communicate them clearly and accessibly.

 

The student will be part of the Health Inequalities Policy Research Group (HIP-R) which conducts world-leading research to improve health and reduce inequalities with a focus on translating evidence into public policy and discourse. There is a HIP-R subgroup conducting work related to maternal inequalities which the student will be able to join. The student will also join Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC). M-RIC is a cutting-edge research facility based in Liverpool whose aim to improve mental healthcare for all patients and service users. The student’s work will also feed into the Lifespan, Health, and Wellbeing research group in the Psychology Department.

 

Project aims and objectives

  • To better understand factors that influence mental health prescribing decisions for perinatal women, current prescribing trends, and outcomes for mothers and their babies.
  • To support evidence-based, shared decision-making between perinatal women and prescribers.

 

Research Questions

1) What challenges and factors are associated with prescribing decisions and decision-making in the perinatal period?

2) What is current practice for the prescription of psychiatric medications to women in the perinatal period and is there evidence of inequalities?

3) What are the outcomes for mothers and their babies when the mother’s psychiatric medications are continued, stopped, or started?

4) What are the key messages for healthcare professionals and the public, and what is the best way to communicate these to support decision-making and influence practice

 

Applicant Suitability

This PhD would ideally suit someone with strong quantitative analysis skills, experience using statistical analysis software (STATA or R) and an interest in any of the following:

  • mental health
  • psychiatric epidemiology
  • Women’s health
  • health inequalities
  • data science
  • medication safety

 

Interviews will be held online.