Public Health Nurse-Delivered 1-Day Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Based Workshops for Treating Postpartum Depression: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) examined the feasibility of study procedures and acceptability of 1-day cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based workshops for postpartum depression (PPD) delivered by nonspecialist public health nurses (PHNs) and explored the potential effects of the intervention on PPD and anxiety to inform a future, full-scale RCT.

Methods: Birthing parents ≥18 years old with an infant <12 months old, living in Ontario, Canada, with an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score ≥10 were recruited between March 18 and May 25, 2022, and randomly assigned to receive the 1-day CBT-based workshop plus treatment as usual (TAU; experimental group) or TAU alone (control group). Feasibility objectives (recruitment, retention, intervention attendance) were described using descriptive statistics, and treatment effects were assessed at enrollment and 3 and 9 months post-intervention.

Results: 119 participants were enrolled in under 3 months, 85% in the experimental group attended their workshop, and 84% of participants completed the study. While the study was not powered to detect differences between experimental and control groups, the experimental group reported larger reductions in depression at 3 (P = .11) and 9 months (P = .045) postworkshop. Experimental group participants also reported greater reductions in anxiety at 3 (P < .01) and 9 months (P = .14) postworkshop than control participants.

Conclusion: Recruiting and retaining participants in an RCT of PHN-delivered 1-day CBT-based workshops is feasible. Pilot results suggest that workshops may lead to improvements in PPD up to 9 months postworkshop. As this pilot study was not powered to detect differences in clinical outcomes, these findings warrant exploration in a full scale RCT.

Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05314361.